Is Wine Direct Shipping Dead?
In 2010, Massachusetts wine lovers couldn’t get a break.
Court rulings, outspoken consumers, and even well-meaning legislators couldn't seem to get past influential wine and spirits wholesalers in Massachusetts.
In January, the 1st Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that a state ban on certain wine shipments was unconstitutional. Family Winemakers v. Jenkins successfully challenged a 2006 Massachusetts law banning winery-to-consumer shipments from wineries and wine companies producing more than 30,000 gallons per year, and who retain a Massachusetts wholesaler. The 30,000 gallon capacity cap was ruled to be arbitrary and discriminatory, since all local producers were under the cap. (Back in 2006, then-Gov. Mitt Romney vetoed the bill that instituted the 30,000-gallon-capacity cap, but was overturned by the Massachusetts Legislature.)
Beacon Hill Barrier
Fast-forwarding to this summer, House Bill 4497 was stuck in the House Ways and Means Committee as the session concluded July 31. While there is still hope, it is unlikely the bill will be resurrected this year.
The provisions of HB 4497 were similar to laws in the majority of U.S. states that allow for winery-to-consumer shipping (37 to be precise).
Those laws require wineries to purchase a shipping license issued by the state, to mark boxes as requiring signature at delivery, to collect and remit taxes, to submit to the jurisdiction of the issuing state, and to limit the quantity of wine shipped to individuals, among others. The basis for HB 4497, the “model direct shipping bill,” was cited by the U.S. Supreme Court and supported by the Federal Trade Commission. HB 4497 even solved a vexing licensing issue that restricted common carriers like FedEx.
If it sounds like a solution that would help consumers, spur local wineries and add to tax coffers, it was.
But it was not to be.
Influential wholesalers put Massachusetts in league with just 13 states that continue to ban winery-to-consumer shipments. Utah and Kentucky hold this dubious distinction: the infraction for shipping a bottle of Chardonnay is a felony in these two states. The “Unlucky 13” reduce consumer choice. Here, we miss opportunities to support 40 Massachusetts wineries and related businesses, and to fairly tax such shipments.
Free the Grapes is a national grassroots coalition of consumers, wineries and retailers seeking to expand consumer choice in fine wine. We believe that consumers, not special interests, should decide which wines to enjoy, and how to purchase them.
Help the cause by signing up for our e-mail list, “liking” us on Facebook, and using our website to tell your representatives you want 2011 to be your vintage.
Jeremy Benson is executive director of Napa, Calif.-based Free the Grapes. For more information visit www.freethegrapes.org.
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