Wine by Mail in MD?

A serious effort to change Maryland's laws regarding wine shipping is underway in Annapolis.

The Maryland Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee will hear the shipping bill on February 18 at 1 p.m.

The legislation submitted in the 2009 session is based on the model wine shipping language adopted by the National Conference of State Legislatures' Task Force, which is supported by the Wine Institute, WineAmerica and citizen groups Free The Grapes and Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws.

What the legislation would do
The bill creates a direct shipper's license which a winery or retailer can obtain for $100. This license allows the licensee (winery or retailer) to ship up to two cases of wine per month to a Maryland consumer. The licensee must label the box with the phrase “CONTAINS ALCOHOL; SIGNATURE OF PERSON AT LEAST AGE 21 YEARS OLD
REQUIRED FOR DELIVERY” and pay sales and excise tax to the state annually.

See the 2009 legislation:
       • SB383 text [.pdf]
       • HB1260 text [.pdf]

Our position
The Maryland Wineries Association acknowledges that the state's alcohol laws are a mess. The patchwork of unnecessary, confusing, ambiguous and antiquated laws – which often differ by jurisdiction – make operating a winery a difficult proposition in our state. It is frustrating for consumers and almost impossible to explain to customers.

The Maryland Wineries Association believes the state's laws governing alcohol should be modernized to reflect 21st century views of the production, sale and consumption of wine.

The ability to ship wine to a consumer is one of many methods provided by law in other states to encourage the growth and prosperity of small wineries by giving them an affordable way to reach new markets The Maryland wineries support our state adopting those methods, including the authority proposed by the model shipping bill.

In 2004, the Governor’s Wine & Grape Advisory Committee studied the growth of wine industries in neighboring states, and issued its report, “Maryland Wine: The Next Vintage.” The report contained 52 recommendations for creating a favorable winery business environment in Maryland. The shipping legislation implements recommendation #23 of that report, which reads:

“RECOMMENDATION 23: Enable wineries to ship wine directly to consumers within the State and remove the obstacles to Maryland becoming a reciprocal state, which would allow Maryland wineries to ship to out-of-state customers.“

See some of the players on YouTube
Delegate Tom Hucker – sponsor of the 2008 HB1260 Direct Wine Shipper's License legislation, which failed.
Scott Ehlers – former director of Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws
Bruce Bereano – lobbyist for Maryland's two largest wholesalers

What's your take?
If you are interested in learning more about the legislation, visit Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws' site. You can contact your legislators via FreetheGrapes.org if you are interested in supporting the legislation.