There’s no question that social media is critical to marketing one’s product. For wineries, however, maintaining a social media presence comes with some serious restrictions. That’s because social media is considered advertising, and is subject to both federal and state regulations governing the advertising of alcoholic beverages. This post is intended to give you the basics on regulations governing the use of social media by wineries. It is, however, not exhaustive. If you have questions about whether something you want to post is permitted, it’s best to look into it or seek advice before posting, rather than risk an inquiry by the TTB or ABC.
Federal regulations set forth both mandatory and prohibited content for any advertising. As for mandatory content, regardless of what social media platform you are using (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, etc.), you must post the name and address of the permittee responsible for the advertisement. This information does not need to be repeated in each individual post, but should be readily accessible to anyone visiting the page. The best place to put this information is in the “About” or “Profile” section of the page. If you are posting about a specific product, your post is required to have “a conspicuous statement of the class, type, or distinctive designation to which the product belongs,” corresponding to that which appears on the product label.
Turning to prohibited content, your page cannot contain any of the many prohibited types of statements set forth in 27 CFR 4.64. That means no misleading statements, no “obscene” or “indecent” statements or designs, no statements that are disparaging of a competitor’s product (even if you’re comparing your product to a competitor’s product), no statements relating to alcohol content (with a few limited exceptions), no statements inconsistent with your labeling, and so on. Check the regulation: it’s pretty comprehensive and includes other restrictions on statements relating to the age of your product, its origin, and any health-related claims.
Of course advertising directed at minors is prohibited. Your online platforms should include an age-screening tool, where the user must either confirm they are of legal age, or enter their birth date to proceed to your content.
California law prohibits wine manufacturers from giving anything of value, “directly or indirectly, to… any person engaged in operating, owning, or maintaining any off-sale licensed premises.” In other words, you can’t give anything of value to a retailer. Posting where your products are sold is providing something of value to the retailers that sell your products. Fortunately, there is an exception to be found: in response to a direct consumer inquiry, you may post the names, addresses, and other contact information for two or more unaffiliated off-sale retailers selling your product as long as you satisfy certain conditions. Those conditions are that you cannot post the retail price of your product, your listing is the only mention of the off-sale retailer in your post, you have to refer to more than one retailer and they cannot be affiliated in any way, and you are exclusively responsible for making, producing, and paying for said listing in response to the consumer inquiry.
Remember that all advertising restrictions apply to the permittee. That means if someone else posts something on your page that does not comply with federal or state regulations, you as the permittee will not be held responsible for that third-party content. However, if that third-party content is re-posted or shared by you, you will be held responsible. While not strictly required, it’s probably a good idea to monitor user-generated content on your sites to make sure it doesn’t fall too far outside the scope of permissible content, or your own bounds of good taste.
