Wine media in Washington state is reporting on a Bill that would increase the number of secondary (off-site) tasting rooms for WA wineries to a new maximum of four: see Washington Wineries Ask Legislature for More Tasting Rooms. Secondary tasting rooms have proved to be extremely successful in Washington since a legislative change in 2000 which introduced the current allowance of two off-site tasting rooms per winery. The change allowed wineries to locate tasting rooms either in downtown wine area towns (e.g. Walla Walla) or closer to urban markets (e.g. Woodinville, which now has 130 tasting rooms just northeast of Seattle). These changes have meant that wineries could increase sales in their DTC channel which is, by far, the most profitable retail channel for the wine industry. Meanwhile, here in B.C., the provincial government has accepted a recommendation of the liquor policy review that secondary tasting rooms should be permitted. However, to date, there has been no announced timeline for implementation and wineries are unable to operate even a single off-site tasting location.
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