Winning laws for wine lovers

OPINION

BY SIOBHAN MOYLAN

This month NSW has done something it should have done a long time ago. We are in the midst of change because law makers have enacted the most comprehensive changes to liquor laws in a quarter of a century.
A new Liquor Act was passed by the NSW Parliament in December last year and now it’s down by law. Three words: Bring it on.
Central to the reforms is taking liquor licensing out of the courts and introducing an administrative-based system to reduce the red tape and cost for everyone involved.
Not only have my friends and I been voicing our opinions (granted, mainly only to each other and generally in the wee hours at such venues as the Judgment bar on Oxford street or the Court House Hotel in Newtown) over the years about the problem of there being no decent wine bars or watering holes in our fair city, but the good folk at the NSW Wine Industry Association have been voicing theirs too. Their campaign to have producer licences brought into line with conditions in other states has been on-going for the past decade. Finally their calls have been answered too.
The creation of a wine producer’s licence allows sales at wine shows and farmer’s markets/producer fairs. Wine producers will now be able to operate multiple premises in the same wine region under the one licence, and charge for wine tastings.
Tastings and cellar door sales will be allowed for small-scale regional brewers and distillers. The 45-litre limit on cellar door sales has been abolished, and B&B’s can now sell alcohol to guests just to name a few benefits.
There’s now less red tape and more importantly less cashola needed for people wanting to have a go at creating a decent drinkerie. Some licences will now cost no more than $500. Whereas before, you’d have to get a full hotelier’s licence, which cost around $2,000 plus $6,600 for a Social Impact Assessment. Add to that an annual fee of $2,500. Boring!
From an experienced socialiser’s view point I look forward to observing over the coming years more people with aesthetic style, creativity, vision and diversity running bars. Maybe musicians will even have more haunts to play in, resulting in a reinvigoration of Sydney’s nightlife to make it less about big bars, big bills, big hair and lary RSL carpet.
It’s my hope that from this month we will start noticing some culture re-entering Sydney.
Oh, for those of you having ‘Dry July’ like me, good luck!