Senate to soon vote whether to OK bill that would lure wine giant to SC
South Carolina senators hesitantly agreed Tuesday to advance legislation that would help lure a major California wine manufacturer and distributor to Chester County and add a small number of tasting rooms in the state — an addition that competitors have criticized as unfair.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance a bill that would allow California-based Gallo Winery to open three satellite tasting rooms, sending the controversial measure to the Senate floor where its proponents hope it will pass before the Legislature’s April crossover deadline, ensuring it gets to the House before the session ends.
The bill advanced with new restrictions under a change proposed by Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg.
Gallo would only be able to open three, not four, satellite tasting rooms, could only sell six bottles of product and not 12 and would have restricted hours of operation, requiring Gallo’s satellite stores to close at 5:30 p.m. so they don’t compete with local restaurants and wine bars, Hutto said.
Gallo Winery wants to invest $400 million to build its first East Coast hub on roughly 600 acres in Fort Lawn, a former mill town, that would serve as the company’s second U.S. location handling bottling, canning, warehousing, distribution and, one day, manufacturing its own cans.
The company would be required to add at least 300 jobs, but testified it’ll add closer to 500.
Gallo also wants to open satellite tasting locations, giving consumers the chance to try and buy its wine, not beer or liquor.
Gov. Henry McMaster supports the legislation and has asked the Legislature to move quickly on the investment.
“I am not going to it here and represent to you that everybody is pleased with this amendment,” said state Sen. Scott Talley, R-Spartanburg. “And I think we were very clear in our meetings that we encourage the parties to continue to work together.”
Retailers, wholesalers and advocates for restaurants and bars have ripped the legislation as being too partial to one company, giving Gallo an unfair advantage in the wine, beer and spirits market.
On their side are some lawmakers, who questioned why the Legislature would bend over backwards for Gallo when similar legislation has not passed to do almost the same for distilleries.
“We always seem to be in a rush to fashion new law for some shiny object coming from out of state, bend over backwards to get rid of a system that we’ve had in place for a number of years,” said state Sen. Marlon Kimpson, D-Charleston.
“But the local restaurants tell me that these testing rooms unnecessarily drive up the competition,” Kimpson added.
State Sen. Rex Rice, R-Pickens, meanwhile, said he was most concerned about his mom-and-pop stores.
“First of all, there would not be a tasting room set up in Pickens County ... with all due respect,” Hutto said.
Senators also took turns jabbing the state’s commerce department, a state agency, along with the state’s Department of Revenue, that helped to craft the legislation. “Another Bobby Hitt special,” said state Sen. Dick Harpootlian of the commerce director, who the Richland Democrat has tangled with repeatedly since Harpootlian was elected to serve in the Senate.
State Sen. Gerald Malloy, D-Darlington, questioned the deal Tuesday but attempted to make more clear where he stands.
“I drink water — I just believe in Jesus,” he said.
This story was originally published March 30, 2021 at 4:32 PM.
