Gelson's Gets OK to Host Wine Tastings

The Calabasas Planning Commission on Thursday granted the local a modification to its liquor license to host on-site wine tastings in a sectioned-off area of the grocery store.

Commissioners voted 5-0 to allow the supermarket to conduct such events between the hours of 10 a.m. and 9 p.m., a time frame mandated by state law.

The events would be organized by Gelson's staff and a winemaker or wine importer who would perform the actual pouring at each event, according to a city staff report. The wine representative would only be allowed to offer samples of a product that is already available for sale at the store, the report read.

Tasting attendees would get no more than three 1-ounce pours of wine per event, according to the report. Roping off the area of the tasting is another stipulation the local Gelson's will have to abide by, the report added.

State law requires that the number of event patrons be limited according to the available space in the wine-tasting area, the city staff report read.

"We're looking at possibly using a seating area that we have at the front of the store adjacent to the bakery. My guess would be less than 250 square feet," said Store Director Eric Gibson.

According to a staff report, Gelson's anticipates no more than 10 to 15 people at a time attending each tasting, a figure commissioners did not object to.

Gibson also said that he would hire security for the first few wine tastings as a precautionary measure and that there would always be a store employee at the management level overseeing the events.

Commissioner Robert Lia expressed concern over monitoring how many pours patrons get, but was reminded by Community Development Director Maureen Tamuri that tracking something like that is difficult.

She said there are already places in Calabasas that offer wine tastings and bars where people can purchase as much alcohol as they like.

"Worst-case scenariors are not in establishments like this, it is in establishments where hard liqour can be served without any limitation whatsoever," Tamuri said.

Robert Delagado, director of purchasing for wine, beer and spirts at the local Gelson's, said food such as cheese and crackers will be offered at tastings. He added that wine representatives would take time to discuss the product between pours.

"There's going to be some education going on, describing the wine, where it's from, tell people what to expect," Delagado said. "In that manner we can control the speed of consumption."

Commissioner Dan Brown said he felt comfortable with that approach.

"If the tasting takes 20 minutes for one wine and then 20 minutes for the next one, that's spacing it out a bit," he said. "If it's taking a swig of the same wine three times, that's a different thing."