SC Senate passes bill paving way for wine giant’s $400M headquarters in Chester Co.
A California-based alcohol company promising a $400 million investment and nearly 500 new jobs in Chester County won a key victory among lawmakers who have been skeptical about granting the company special favors critics say will give the wine giant an unfair advantage.
The South Carolina Senate voted 31-6 Thursday on legislation that would allow Gallo Winery to open three satellite tasting rooms in areas of the state that have high foot traffic and sell up to six bottles of their product to each customer per day. The tasting rooms also would have to close at 5:30 p.m. so they wouldn’t compete with restaurants.
Senators pushed the measure through the chamber on the final day of crossover, the deadline for each chamber to get legislation across the lobby to the other chamber so it has a chance of passing. After one last perfunctory reading Friday, the bill goes next to the state House, a chamber that has traditionally aligned itself with Gov. Henry McMaster — who supports the legislation — and who has with ease passed legislation to lure large investments to the state.
The proposal has its opponents, who have said the law change required to give Gallo the special tasting rooms it wants will unfairly advantage the company. Critics have still resisted the bill even though lawmakers have reduced the number of bottles that can be sold on site and Gallo agreed to remove liquor and beer from its tasting rooms.
Wholesalers, retailers and advocates for restaurants and bars have argued the tasting rooms would cause undue competition, disrupting the state’s alcohol system that protects the interests of alcohol retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers by keeping them separate.
Likewise some lawmakers have voiced uncertainty about why the Legislature would give special favors to one company, especially when similar legislation to do nearly the same for distilleries has failed to pass before.
South Carolina has an alcohol system that is working, said state Sen. John Scott, D-Richland, asking not to destroy it. Scott ultimately voted in favor of the bill.
“I don’t think it jeopardizes it,” said state Sen. Scott Talley, R-Spartanburg, when asked about the bill’s impact on the state’s alcohol regulation system.
To address those concerns, the Senate added additional measures increasing the amount micro-distilleries could serve for tasting and allow them to have restaurants on site.
Lawmakers also pointed to a requirement in the bill that Gallo buy its own bottles for its tasting rooms through the state’s licensed wholesalers, rather than bringing their own alcohol in, and sell it at the retail price. The state’s Department of Revenue also would have oversight powers to ensure Gallo’s investment comes through, lawmakers said.
Talley acknowledged, “It is new, it is different.”
Gallo Winery’s investment in Chester County would be sizeable for the state.
The Chester County location would be Gallo’s East Coast home on roughly 600 acres in Fort Lawn, a former mill town.
Gallo representatives told senators the facility would handle bottling, canning, warehousing and distribution and, down the road, manufacturing of its own cans. Though the bill would require Gallo to add at least 300 jobs, the company testified it’ll be closer to 500.
“I feel like I had six heart attacks throughout the day. There was just a hiccup each time,” state Sen. Mike Fanning, D-Fairfield, whose district includes parts of Chester County, said late Thursday after the vote. “The micro-distillery (amendment) really rejuvenated us with new life. I’m so thankful for the so many senators who went out of their way to make sure this was not just about Chester County. But it’s the world’s largest winery coming to South Carolina on the site of a former textile plant.”
Fanning continued that, unlike the Legislature’s previous deal that helped lure the main operations for the Carolina Panthers NFL team to Rock Hill in South Carolina, Gallo Winery isn’t getting an interstate exit, for example, but a turning lane and railroad upgrades he said that will not be paid for by the state.
“It’s extremely reasonable,” Fanning said.
But senators expressed deep skepticism of the bill, particularly whether Gallo’s plans to build an East Coast hub in Chester County really did hinge on the tasting rooms.
Senators also demanded to know what incentives the state would pay to bring Gallo to South Carolina, and, at one point, put a pause on Senate proceedings until representatives with the South Carolina Department of Commerce came to the State House and told them what the state would be giving.
“They answered the questions that we had,” said Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield.
This story was originally published April 8, 2021 at 6:29 PM with the headline "SC Senate passes bill paving way for wine giant’s $400M headquarters in Chester Co.."
