Massachusetts law prohibits most wine shipments so I have been prevented from ordering wine from numerous U.S. wineries. I can't join their wine clubs. All I can do is salivate over their catalogs and newsletters, wanting to taste their wines but unable to do so. Yet maybe that will change.
The Boston Herald reported today, in "California winemakers challenge Mass. law." that on July 29, a trial will begin in a case that challenges the constitutionality of a Massachusetts law that bans some wineries from shipping directly to Massachusetts consumers. The current law allows only very limited shipping to consumers. A winery must produce less than 30,000 gallons of wine a year and haven’t used a wholesaler in the last six months.
That law potentially discriminates against larger wineries and there seems to be little rationale for the restriction. Not surprisingly, the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Massachusetts Inc. supports the current Massachusetts law.
Other states around the country are facing similar challenges to their laws that restrict out of state wine shipments. Let us hope the Massachusetts courts open up our state, allowing a greater freedom of choice.
Keep an eye on the 7th Circuit case on appeal from Indiana. It addressed a similar statute, and looks like a good verdict is going to get reversed, judging by the oral argument.
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