Bill paving way for wine giant’s $400M site in SC soon headed to governor’s desk

A California wine giant’s $400 million bottling and distribution plant, slated for 640 acres in Chester County, won a key victory

Tuesday after the South Carolina House passed legislation giving the company three off-site tasting rooms.

The measure, which passed by the House in a 98-11 vote, will go to Gov. Henry McMaster’s desk after a third, perfunctory vote Wednesday. McMaster says he will sign it.

In hardly a three-month span, the Legislature tweaked the state’s alcohol regulation system to pave way for a large-scale investment by E & J Gallo Winery in Fort Lawn, a former mill town in desperate need of jobs, state lawmakers said.

Part of that investment would be nearly 500 jobs, though Gallo’s representatives said it could bump up to more than 1,000.

The legislation allows Gallo to open and run three, standalone tasting rooms in areas of the state with high foot traffic. They could only sell wine — not beer or liquor — and only sell six bottles of of its wine to each customer. That wine must be bought through the state’s licensed wholesalers and then resold to customers at the retail price.

Despite attempts to change the bill, Gallo would have to close each of its tasting rooms by 5:30 p.m.

Gallo’s representatives told lawmakers in order to build the Chester plant, they needed this legislation first.

Wholesalers, retailers and, recently, wineries criticized the deal as unfair, saying special perks should not be given to out-of-state companies, leveraging Gallo’s advantage. But lawmakers and Gallo’s advocates defended the deal, arguing the investment was on the scale of BMW Manufacturing’s spending in Spartanburg County, another former mill town.

Lawmakers said the legislation would hardly give Gallo a leg up, especially after giving wholesalers and retailers more say.

Sweetening the legislation for many, lawmakers agreed to allow micro-distilleries to increase the amount of alcohol they serve for tasting and have restaurants on site. For years, the micro-distillery industry has battled with Legislature and the state’s wholesalers and retailers over giving the industry more room to expand.

That became more necessary after the COVID-19 wreaked havoc on business, lawmakers heard.

This story will be updated.