I’ll toast to that — let’s pass direct-to-consumer wine legislation this session
Alabama we have another opportunity this session to help bring our state in line with the times. This week, a bill to allow wine to be shipped directly from vineyards to consumers homes passed out of committee. After all, is there any reason the government should be involved in deciding if a resident can have an otherwise lawful substance delivered to their home? So long as someone over 21 can drive to their neighborhood grocery store or heck even a gas station and get cheap wine why should laws prohibit someone else from ordering a bottle or case of the good stuff from an out of state winery? It makes no sense for a state of conservative lawmakers who value personal responsibility and a free-market to object to this. Looking at the Free the Grapes! website, you’ll see Alabama is only one of six states where direct-to-consumer wine purchases are prohibited. That’s absolutely ridiculous. Come on Alabama, let’s get with it. All of the reasons why this should continue to be prohibited are absurd. Our state wants additional tax revenues, this would do that. We want to continue to attract new business and have a more dynamic marketplace. This would do that. We want to attract people who not only have high incomes, but will employ people with high incomes, so let’s pass SB24 and satisfy consumer demand. Antiquated laws do nothing to further our state’s place in the competing market for increased quality of life and if you don’t think wine matters then you’ve never tasted a great Sine Qua Non Dark Blossom or another hard to get bottle. While it might seem like a minor inconvenience, is an a completely unnecessary inconvenience that should be remedied. If Free the Grapes! could get Alabamians to rally around the idea of home delivery of wine, the same way the Free the Hops movement got people to rally around updating our state’s antiquated beer and brewery laws — we could pass this in no time. Here’s to hoping that legislators give us a reason to toast this session by rolling back these terrible prohibition-era laws.
Direct wine shipment bill returns to Senate Committee, passes
Alabama could soon join 45 other states in allowing licensed wine manufacturers to ship wine directly to Alabama consumers. Currently, the Yellowhammer States bans winery-to-consumer direct shipments. But proposed legislation would, if passed, allow adult consumers in Alabama to purchase a limited amount of wine directly from wineries licensed by the state to ship directly to their homes. SB243, sponsored by Madison-Republican State Sen. Bill Holtzclaw, was scheduled to be taken up earlier this month by the Senate Committee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development, but according to the committee’s chair, Rainbow City-Republican state Sen. Phil Williams, Holtzclaw postponed discussion of the bill to work out a few details with his Senate colleagues. As introduced, the bill would limit the amount of wine that a producer could ship to any individual at 24 cases per year, each case not exceeding nine liters of wine, and would require the purchaser be verified to be 21 years of age. SB243 returned to the committee on Wednesday where it passed 7-5, thanks in part to the pressure on lawmakers to act on behalf of their constituents created by Free the Grapes!, an advocacy and consumer outreach nonprofit that urged Alabamians to write the lawmakers ahead of the previously schedule committee hearing. According to their numbers, 669 Alabamians urged their state lawmakers to support the legislation in the first few weeks of January. It now heads to the full Senate for further consideration.
Free the Grapes urges Alabama lawmakers to allow wine shipments
Alabama is one of only six states with a ban on winery-to-consumer direct shipments. But proposed legislation would, if passed, allow adult consumers in Alabama to purchase a limited amount of wine directly from wineries licensed by the state to ship. On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development is scheduled to consider SB243, sponsored by Madison-Republican State Sen. Bill Holtzclaw, the bill would allow licensed wine manufacturers to ship wine directly to Alabama consumers. As introduced, the bill would limit the amount of wine that a producer could ship to any individual at 24 cases per year, each case not exceeding nine liters of wine, and would require the purchaser be verified to be 21 years of age. Free the Grapes!, an advocacy and consumer outreach nonprofit is urging Alabamians to write the lawmakers ahead of Wednesday’s committee meeting. “The time has come for Alabamians to access the wines they want,” said Jeremy Benson, executive director of Free the Grapes!, the national movement of consumers, wineries and retailers seeking to expand consumer choice in wine with legal, regulated direct to consumer shipments. “We believe consumers should determine which wines they can enjoy and how they purchase them. Senate Bill 243 will give Alabama’s wine lovers that privilege.” “Don’t believe the scare tactics presented by opponents,” Benson continued. “No state has rescinded its direct shipping laws based on non-compliance, underage access, or loss of jobs. Senate Bill 243 is a beneficial bill for the state of Alabama and a win for consumer choice.”
