NJ considering whether to uncork direct wine shipments

by: Jason Springer

Wed Mar 04, 2009 at 04:00:00 PM EST

Retailers already are allowed to direct ship, but wines from thousands of small vineyards around the nation are not available through retailers, because either the wineries are low-volume producers or they haven't forged relationships with distributors, the group says.

"This bill is not about going down and getting a $10 bottle of wine from a retailer," said Stephen Reid, senior vice president of the lobbying firm Capital Public Affairs, which is organizing the UncorkNJ effort. "This is about getting that special wine the retailer probably doesn't have."

Lloyd Benedict, chief executive officer and founder of AmericanWinery.com, a Walla Walla, Wash., company that helps vineyards sell direct, said, "New Jersey is the fastest growing wine community in the nation." This bill, he said, would give New Jersey residents "the ability to get unique wines made all over the United States, and wineries would be able get their wines" into New Jersey.

Proponents of keeping the ban in place say allowing shipments of wine could lead to more underage drinking. We find that hard to believe. Are teenagers really going to go to the trouble of using fraudulent identification or getting someone who is 21 to sign for them so they can pay a lot of money for high-end wine that might take a week or more to arrive? That just doesn't seem likely. Most teenagers who drink aren't sipping specialty wines from vineyards in California or elsewhere.

This measure is about giving adult wine lovers the ability to drink regional wines they enjoy that aren't available in liquor stores here. There are literally thousands of different wines produced domestically in the United States by more than 1,000 winemakers. Most liquor stores in South Jersey carry only a small fraction on their shelves.

Currently, wines can be shipped through retailers, although advocates for the legislation say that unless a winery can produce thousands of bottles, it is unlikely their product will be picked up.

The lawmakers said the legislation would boost opportunities for the state's agricultural community, while giving consumers the same buying power as residents in 36 other states.

But the bill is getting push back from retail associations, concerned that cutting them out of the supply chain would impact their bottom lines.

Barbara McConnell, a lobbyist for the New Jersey Licensed Beverage Association, which represents bars and taverns that also sell packaged goods, said the legislation comes at a time when the industry is already experiencing lower sales because of the tough economy.

"We think it's just going to have a further economic impact," she said.