1. (a) Any small farm winery or Arkansas liquor wholesaler licensed by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division may petition the division for permission to conduct a wine tasting event for educational and promotional purposes in any area of the state, including areas in which the retail sale of alcoholic beverages is not authorized by law.

2. (b)

   1. (1) Application for permission to distribute wine samples must be received by the division at least three (3) weeks prior to the event.
   2. (2) Written notice of the application shall be mailed by the division to the law enforcement officer who has primary jurisdiction over the site where the event will be held.
   3. (3) If the Director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division finds that circumstances exist which precluded the timely filing of the application with the division, written approval of the event by the law enforcement officer having primary jurisdiction over the site of the event must accompany any such late filed application received by the division.

3. (c)

   1. (1) The request must be submitted with authorization from the landowner or the party exercising legal control over the area where the event will be held.
   2. (2) The application for permission must describe the area where the event will be held, including the size and dimensions of the area, and the request must clearly describe the character of the location.
   3. (3) No wine tasting event shall be held in any facility already licensed by the division.

4. (d)

   1. (1) As used in this part, “wine” means any product made from grapes, fruits, berries, or other similar products which contains more than one-half of one percent (0.5%) alcohol by weight but which does not contain more than fourteen percent (14%) alcohol by weight, regardless of the location of the manufacturer.
   2. (2) Samples may be distributed Monday through Friday between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m. of the next day.
   3. (3) On a Saturday, samples may be distributed only between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 12:00 midnight.
   4. (4) No sampling activity may take place on a Sunday unless the event is taking place in an area which has voted for the sale of liquor by the drink on a Sunday and, in such event, samples may be distributed between the hours of 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 midnight, or such lesser period of time as may be provided by local ordinance for the retail sale of alcoholic beverages on a Sunday.
5. (e) Any action by the director in granting or denying such application is appealable to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board pursuant to 3 CAR § 1-605, provided that such action on the part of the director shall be effective immediately without the requirement of such action being ratified by the board at the next board meeting.

Codification Notes: This section as promulgated prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules provided as follows: “(Adopted 8-19-93)”.