Winery Sues Santa Barbara County Over Marketing Push

Norm Yost and Kate Griffith, proprietors of Flying Goat Cellars, in Santa Barbara, Calif., want nothing to do with the Santa Barbara County Vintners Association (SBCVA).

But in February 2025, they say in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court, the county passed an ordinance requiring all wineries "to become involuntary members of, and pay a 1% assessment to" SBCVA. It did this by creating a wine Business Improvement District.

So they sued, alleging the county's action compels them "to subsidize speech and advocacy with which they disagree," takes their private property and money without a legitimate public use, and are compelled to join the vintners association.

The suit acknowledges that the County Board of Supervisors is authorized to establish a business improvement district.

According to the suit, prior to the board of supervisors adiption of the ordinance, 70% of the wineries in the county had refused to join the association. But when it came to establishing the BID, a weighted vote system was used that assured small wineries like Flying Goat wouldn't have a meaningful say.

The real disagreement relates to marketing. Flying Goat does not focus on export markets or international recognition. Rather, it serves local customers in Lompec and the surrounding area. Therefore, they say, they should be able to opt out since they derive no benefit from the BID.

All of this amounts to violations of the First and Fifth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The First Amendment includes the right "not to speak,, including through the subsidization of speech, and the right not to be forced to associate with an organization with which the plaintiff does not wish to associate."

The Fifth Amendment prohibits private property being taken for public use without just compensation. Flying Goat argues that the fees the plaintiffs are compelled to pay amount to taking of private property for a nonpublic use – the funding of a trade association, whose purpose "is to benefit the wine industry in the county, not the public."

Santa Barbara County hadn't had time to respond to our request for comment.