New York State has passed a law allowing direct interstate shipment of wine into the state, following a May U.S. Supreme Court ruling which struck down a law that barring out-of-state wine shipments.
The law requires, among other things:
* Limiting shipments from each winery to no more than 36 cases per year.
* Licensed wineries to sell their wines only to adults at least 21 years of age. *Out-of-state wineries that apply for a license to ship into New York to be located in a state which affords New York wineries reciprocal shipping privileges.
According to news reports, the 36-case shipment rule came about as a compromise. Under the high court ruling, New York either had to let all wineries sell directly to consumers or block all shipments. While New York wineries had wanted to lift shipping restrictions, Pataki insisted on limiting orders to 36 cases a year.
“This new law transforms the New York wine industry from a local curiosity into a national player,” said New York Wine & Grape Foundation President, Jim Trezise in a statement. “In the past 30 years, New York has grown from only 19 wineries to 218 today. This law extends direct shipment to a national scale, and will have an immediate impact on sales as well as New York’s reputation for quality wines. This is a great investment in New York’s economy, and we are grateful to Governor Pataki and the Legislature for propelling our industry into a new era.”
The law takes effect Aug. 12.
How will New York’s action affect the direct marketing of wine across he country? It may be too early to tell.
In addition to New York and Michigan, at least six other states still restrict out-of-state wineries from doing business within their borders. It will take action from legislatures in each of them to open those markets to wineries, many of which sell via the Internet, catalogs and other forms of direct marketing, said Leslie Berglund, CEO of the Winetasting Network, a Napa, CA direct marketer (Direct, June 1).
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