Wine lovers, vintners ready to take on General Assembly
chicagotribune.com
Wine lovers, vintners ready to take on General Assembly
Groups seek law that would permit direct-to-consumer sales, deliveries
By Laura Smitherman | laura.smitherman@baltsun.com
November 27, 2009
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.
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