Wine lovers, vintners ready to take on General Assembly
Wine lovers, vintners ready to take on General Assembly
Fri 27 Nov 2009
By Laura Smitherman | laura.smitherman@baltsun.com
Wine lovers are planning an all-out lobbying offensive in the General
Assembly next year for passage of a law that would allow merchants and
wineries to ship directly to Maryland consumers.
The issue has
fermented for years in the legislature where a bill has been bottled up
in committee, but wine producers and connoisseurs see an opportunity in
the next session that begins in January. They say they have more
funding and support, and they hope to draw votes by casting the bill as
a pro-consumer issue that lawmakers can promote to voters before the
2010 election.
"We've got a lot of things going in our favor,
and this issue will finally have its day," said Adam Borden, executive
director of Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws, an organization
whose membership has grown tenfold with increased outreach over the
past year.
Maryland law sets up a three-tier regulatory system
that requires producers to sell to wholesalers, who distribute cases of
wine to retail stores. Opponents of direct-to-consumer sales say those
transactions would undermine that system and make it easier for minors
to obtain alcohol.
The issue has sparked a national movement and
a "Free the Grapes" grass-roots coalition seeking to remove
restrictions on wine shipping. At least 35 states, including Virginia,
and the District of Columbia have passed legislation authorizing direct
shipment of wine to consumers.
In Maryland, the bill didn't get
out of House and Senate committees in 2008. But next year, proponents
are coming back with a more well-funded, well-heeled plan.
They
have been holding fundraisers, including a $250-per-person wine tasting
in Chevy Chase next month featuring Chateau Margaux and Beychevelle
wines, and they have hired a political affairs coordinator for the
session. They also are getting an assist from the Wine Institute, a
trade group of California wineries that intends to hire a lobbyist in
Maryland.
And proponents are buoyed by the support of Del.
Carolyn J. Krysiak, a Baltimore Democrat who sits on the alcoholic
beverages subcommittee of the House Economic Matters Committee and
plans to sponsor the bill next year. She said passage is "inevitable"
and that constituents are frustrated they can't send a gift basket that
includes a bottle of wine or ship home a favorite wine they tasted in
California's Napa Valley.
Del. Dereck E. Davis, a Prince
George's County Democrat and chairman of the economic panel, said he
knows that some lawmakers are interested in seeing the wine shipping
issue resolved but cautioned that his committee also has other pressing
problems to confront next session, including possible legislation
concerning home foreclosures, the energy markets and the unemployment
trust fund.
And opposition persists. The Licensed Beverage
Distributors of Maryland has retained Bruce C. Bereano, one of the
highest-paid lobbyists in Annapolis. Bereano said that direct sales
could hurt wholesalers and retailers in the state and that the current
system ensures face-to-face transactions with adults whose ages can be
verified.
Maryland law does allow consumers to arrange for a
wine shipment to be picked up at a retailer, but Borden said the
process is cumbersome and rarely used. He also noted that the new law
would require signatures of someone 21 years or older for deliveries.