(Wines&Vines) - Winery managers who have been looking over their shoulders about possible social media mishaps may be relieved to find out that the California Alcoholic Beverage Control board (ABC) isn’t after them.

“We don’t employ people to search the Internet for violations,” admits ABC general counsel Matthew Botting. Nevertheless, the ABC learns about many violations, either from people tattling or simply receiving mass emails. “I get a lot of emails from you,” the lawyer noted at the ShipCompliant Direct conference May 28 at the Napa Valley Marriott.

Some of Botting’s remarks to the winery personnel gathered at the meeting were inspired by the recent cancellation of the popular nonprofit Grapescape fundraising wine show in Sacramento, Calif.

Only four wineries signed up compared to 40 in the past. Some believe the remainder were reacting to notices sent by the ABC to some of last year’s participants that their Tweets and other social media about the show violated California tied-house laws that prohibit wineries promoting wine retailers.

It turns out that the organizers of the event had sold naming rights to the Save Mart chain, which sells wine. So if the wineries mentioned the event, they were in effect promoting a retailer.

That’s a no-no. According to Botting, wineries can’t just mention one retailer in any promotion. “It almost became a Save Mart event,” he noted