An Act Regarding the Sale of Hard Cider
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 0616
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: TIMBERLAKE, MASON, DILLINGHAM, KINNEY, LUCHINI, MARTIN, TURNER, DILL, PATRICK
Amends: 28-A MRSA §1355-A

Legislative Document 
No. 616 
H.P. 429 
House of Representatives, March 3, 2015 
An Act Regarding the Sale of Hard Cider 
Reference to the Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
ROBERT B. HUNT 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative TIMBERLAKE of Turner. 
Cosponsored by Senator MASON of Androscoggin and 
Representatives: DILLINGHAM of Oxford, KINNEY of Limington, LUCHINI of Ellsworth, 
MARTIN of Eagle Lake, McCABE of Skowhegan, TURNER of Burlington, Senators: DILL 
of Penobscot, PATRICK of Oxford. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  28-A MRSA §1355-A, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 629, §22, is 
amended to read: 
4.  Wineries; small wineries.  Except as otherwise provided in this section, the 
following provisions apply to wineries and small wineries.  For the purposes of this 
subsection, wineries and small wineries include manufacturers of hard cider licensed by 
the bureau as wineries and small wineries in accordance with this section. 
A.  A holder of a winery license may produce more than 50,000 gallons per year of 
wines, sparkling wines and fortified wines. 
B.  A holder of a small winery license may produce not more than 50,000 gallons per 
year of wines, sparkling wines and fortified wines. 
(1)  A holder of a small winery license may sell or deliver its products to licensed 
retailers or wholesalers.  The licensee may sell, on the premises for consumption 
off the premises, wine produced at the licensed premises by the bottle, by the 
case or in bulk to licensed retailers, including, but not limited to, off-premises 
retail licensees, restaurants and clubs.  Notwithstanding section 1361, the licensee 
may sell its products directly to a retail licensee under this paragraph without 
selling to a wholesale licensee. 
(2)  A holder of a small winery license, upon application to and approval of the 
bureau and payment of the license fees, may obtain licenses for off-premises 
consumption for up to 2 additional locations other than the location of the in-state 
manufacturer licensed under this section.  The holder of the licenses is not 
required to conduct any bottling or production at the additional licensed locations 
but may conduct all activities permitted by this section at the additional licensed 
locations.  For the holder of a small winery license who manufactures only hard 
cider, one of the additional locations may be at the site of the orchard or farm 
from which fruit is harvested in the production of the hard cider.  The orchard or 
farm must be owned by the holder of the small winery license who produces hard 
cider, but the orchard or farm may be a corporation that is separate from the small 
winery. 
C.  A holder of a winery or small winery license may fortify wine produced by the 
winery license holder and import spirits solely for this purpose. 
(1)  If a small winery license holder produces fortified wine pursuant to this 
paragraph, the combined total of wine, sparkling wine and fortified wine 
produced at the small winery may not exceed 50,000 gallons per year. 
For purposes of this subsection, "fortified wine" means wine to which spirits have been 
added as long as the resulting liquor does not exceed 24% alcohol by volume. 
SUMMARY 
This bill clarifies that hard cider manufactured by the holder of a winery or small 
winery license is subject to the same provisions as wine.  The bill provides that one of the 
additional locations where a small winery may sell its product, including hard cider, may 
be at the farm or orchard where the fruit used to make the cider was harvested.  It also 
provides that the farm or orchard must be owned by the license holder but may be a 
corporation that is separate from the winery.