The consolidated appropriations package, which includes a one-year extension of the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (S. 362/H.R. 1175) that provides federal excise tax benefits for all wineries, was signed into law on December 20, 2019. “The Craft Beverage bill will help provide certainty for California’s 4,000 wineries to reinvest in their businesses and employees,” said Robert P. “Bobby” Koch, President and CEO of the Wine Institute. “Our wineries saved nearly $150 million in taxes in 2018 and 2019, and that has helped support the nearly 800,000 jobs in the nation that their wines generate.” The legislation will reduce excise tax payments for wineries in the country by expanding the value of the existing producer credit. Excise tax rates for small- to medium-size wineries will be reduced from 55% to more than 80%, among other outcomes.