Winery Not Allowed to Sell Wine
Citing “undue concentration” of places to buy alcohol in Los Olivos, the county supervisors nixed the possibility for Zinke Wine Company to sell bottled beer and wine out of their proposed gourmet market. According to county staffers, who recommended the denial, there are 20 more “off-sale” licenses than the ABC threshold allows — three — given the town’s population size, just over 3,000. Expressing disappointment, Matt Allen, attorney for the winery, charged the county “continues to make it harder and harder for small businesses to survive.” Ironically, Allen added, a tasting room will now probably go on the site instead because the county supervisors do not have a say over those ABC permits.
