Home > Articles > News Index > Bronco Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Case Over Napa Name Brands

Bronco Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Case Over Napa Name Brands

Producer of Napa Ridge has spent years fighting a California law

Daniel Sogg

Posted: Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Like an old-time prizefight, when combatants kept swinging until somebody stayed down, the litigants in Bronco v. Jolly continue to battle. The next round could take place in the U.S. Supreme Court, which could decide within 60 days whether to hear the case, which centers around how the Napa name can be used on wines.

The litigation pits Ceres, Calif.-based Bronco Wine Co., owner of more than two dozen inexpensive brands, against California state authorities and the Napa Valley Vintners, a marketing group representing more than 250 wineries. Bronco has been challenging a September 2000 California law that bans geographic references in brand names, such as Napa Ridge, unless at least 75 percent of the grapes in the wine come from the named region.

On Jan. 11, Bronco's attorneys filed a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to accept the case. On Monday, the Napa Valley Vintners submitted its own brief in opposition.

Bronco lost the last round in August 2004, when the Supreme Court of California ruled unanimously against the company; the judges declared that California had the right to pass the law and that it is not preempted by federal alcohol regulations. That decision reversed a December 2002 decision in Bronco's favor by California's Third District Court of Appeals.

Federal labeling regulations require that 75 percent of the grapes in a wine with a geographic brand name must come from the referenced region. But a grandfather clause exempts brands established prior to July 7, 1986.

According to documents filed during the litigation, Bronco earns about $17 million a year from three grandfathered brands: Napa Ridge, Napa Creek and Rutherford Vintners. These are made predominantly, if not exclusively, with grapes from California's vast Central Valley, where Bronco CEO Fred Franzia owns 35,000 acres of vines.

The Napa Valley Vintners argue that such wines can cause consumer confusion and harm their region's prestigious reputation. Urged by the organization, the California legislature tried to close the federal loophole with a 2000 law stating that the 75 percent requirement applies to all brand names referring to Napa or its subappellations. The law does not cover other appellations within the state.

If the U.S. Supreme Court takes the case, it would be addressing only whether the California law is an illegal attempt to override federal authority. But that is just one facet of Bronco's legal challenge. The California Court of Appeals is still evaluating three other Bronco claims: that the 2000 law violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution; that it curtails First Amendment rights of free speech; and that it violates due process by killing valuable brands without compensation.

View all news articles from the past 30 days

Back to top

Currently on Wine Spectator Online:

• Collecting Q&A: 1975 Dom Pérignon's value
• Unfiltered: Ex-Miss France 2004 Takes Winemaker Title
  Plus, UK thieves rob a Champagne truck, "ladybug taint" solution revealed, and dogs invade restaurants for charity
• Federal Court Tells Out-of-State Wine Stores to Stay Out of New York
  Appellate decision affirms state's right to ban shipments from stores in other states
• Wine Talk: Jonathan Vaughters
  Director of professional cycling's Garmin-Slipstream team talks about riding through some of the world's great wine regions, then heading back to enjoy the local bottles
• Smiling Through Gritted Teeth
  Vinexpo draws wine producers and buyers from 48 countries, but attendance is down and business is slow