Local wineries can sell their products at Harvard Farmers’ Market
Selectmen voted unanimously Tuesday to allow local wineries to sell their products at the Harvard Farmers’ Market, held each Saturday at the Hildreth Elementary School through October.
The decision follows a change in state law that lets Massachusetts farm wineries sell their wine at farm events such as farmers’ markets, fairs and festivals. Towns have the right to grant or refuse applications for such licenses, regardless of the number of liquor licenses they have been authorized to issue by the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission. By the time the Selectmen met this week, three licensed farm wineries had already applied for permission to sell in Harvard. They include:
- Still River Winery of Harvard, whose co-owner Wade Holtzman appeared before the Selectmen on Tuesday
- Turtle Creek Winery of Lincoln
- Trevessia Urban Winery of New Bedford.
To make sales of wine possible, Selectmen had to first add a new class of license to its policies and then approve the individual license applications. Using a draft change to its liquor policies drawn up by Chair Marie Sobalvarro and doing a bit of editing on the fly, the board managed to accomplish both in less than 50 minutes.
Whether or not a vendor is admitted to an event is up to the managers, so whether any of the three wineries will be offered one of the 24 booths available at the Harvard Farmers’ Market on any given weekend will be a decision for the committee that oversees its operation. The School Committee, which has oversight of all school property in town, must also approve wine sales on its property, an activity that will include the tasting of samples of the product. The town fee for a license to sell at an agricultural event will be $50 per event.
Planning Board fills vacancy
In a unanimous vote, the Planning Board and Selectmen jointly appointed Maggie Green to fill the Planning Board position left vacant by the resignation of Craig Bardenheuer this summer.
Green is the director of education at Fruitlands, and contributed to the work of the Municipal Buildings Committee as a volunteer. She told the boards that she has a background in urban planning and a master’s degree in architecture.
Selectman Peter Warren endorsed Green’s nomination. Her work for the MBC “was fantastic,” he said.
