Re-regulating wine
The restrictive laws for shipping wine from wineries direct to customers both in-state and across state lines are a the subject of a articles in New York Times and Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
Pennsylvania allowed its in-state wineries to ship direct to customers in the state, while out of state wineries could only ship through the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. A 2005 United States Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional as the state cannot discriminate against out-of-state wineries. The Pennsylvania Legislature is now mulling a bill that would force Pennsylvania wineries to also go through the state system. However, there are a lot of wrinkles and details still to be worked out.
Eric Asimov at the Times look at the nation-wide implications of the 2005 ruling and the various interpretations of it in courts around the country as wineries try to open up markets for direct shipping while distributors and wholesalers try to reinforce restrictive post-Prohibition enforcement.
[...] state legislature that would ban wineries from shipping straight to consumers, a topic we mentioned in a post last week. Pennsylvania wine-makers quite reasonably fear that the proposal will hurt the state’s [...]
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