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.
I didn't even know I couldn't get wine directly until I went to place the order for a gift online and they told me I couldn't complete the sale a few months ago. Follow me below the fold to get some of the arguments for and against removing the ban. Let us know where you stand too.
