Alcohol Tastings

Brief Overview of Alcohol Tastings

  • Subject to certain limitations, alcohol beverage tastings are permitted within the City.
  • "Tastings" means the sampling of malt, vinous, or spirituous liquors that may occur on the premises of a retail liquor store licensee or liquor-licensed drugstore licensee by adult patrons of the licensee.
  • Tastings shall be conducted only by a person who has completed a server training program that meets the standards established by the liquor enforcement division in the department of revenue and who is either a retail liquor store licensee or a liquor-licensed drugstore licensee, or an employee of a licensee, and only on a licensee's licensed premises.
LIST OF QUALIFIED SERVER TRAINING PROGRAMS
       http://www.gettips.com/
       http://www.gettips.com/    (web based)
       http://www.servsafe.com/home.aspx

  • The size of an individual alcohol sample shall not exceed one ounce of malt or vinous liquor or one-half ounce of spirituous liquor.
  • Tastings shall not exceed five hours per day. The hours need not be consecutive.
  • Tastings shall be conducted only during the operating hours in which the licensee on whose premises the tastings occur is permitted to sell alcoholic beverages, and in no case earlier than 11 a.m. or later than 7 p.m.
  • Tastings are permitted only on the days indicated on the schedule that is submitted with the application. Any variation of this schedule needs to be pre-approved by the City Clerk's Office.
  • The licensee shall prohibit patrons from leaving the licensed premises with an unconsumed sample.
  • The licensee shall promptly remove all open and unconsumed alcohol beverage samples form the licensed premises or shall destroy the samples immediately following the completion of the tasting, or store any open containers of unconsumed alcohol beverages in a secure area outside the sales area of the licensed premises for use at a tasting conducted at a later time or date.
  • The licensee shall not serve a person who is under twenty-one years of age or who is visibly intoxicated.
  • The licensee shall not serve more than four individual samples to a patron during a tasting.
  • Alcohol samples shall be in open containers and shall be provided to a patron free of charge.
  • Fee for alcohol tasting permit is $100 for one year of tastings paid to the City of Wheat Ridge.
These are just some of the important rules that apply, for the complete list select Ordinance 1327 and the Colorado Liquor Code below.

Rules, Regulations and Forms