Since the Supreme Court ruled to allow interstate wine shipments I’ve been following the news around the country. Although Alabama hasn’t done anything on this yet, New York State has a new law on the books that opens their doors.
(From AP) LODI, NY – Winery owners and grape growers cheered Wednesday as Gov. George Pataki signed a new law to allow direct wine shipments in and out of the state.
Pataki signed the bill at a desk outside Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars off state Route 414 in Seneca County before about 75 winemakers, grape growers and Finger Lakes boosters.
The law “transforms the industry from a local curiosity into a national player,” said Jim Trezise, president of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation. “It’s probably the most liberal direct-shipment law in the country.”
New York’s 219 wineries typically churn out about 200 million bottles of wine each year, generating more than $1 billion in sales. New York is the nation’s third largest wine producer behind California and Washington.
“I think it is primarily a good thing for the consumer,” said Sayre Fulkerson, owner of Fulkerson Winery in Dundee. “And the more access consumers have to our wine, the bigger market it will create.”
Lamoreaux Landing, which opened in 1992, sells about 8,000 cases a year, and relies on visitors to survive, said owner Mark Wagner. The new law is expanding its market to the entire country, so his vineyards high above Seneca Lake will “undoubtedly get bigger,” he said.
The new law, which takes effect in 30 days, allows New York connoisseurs to order wine by mail from wineries throughout the country.
A Supreme Court ruling in May struck down laws in New York and Michigan as discriminatory because they allowed in-state wineries, but not out-of-state businesses, to ship directly to consumers. The decision blew the lid off a hotly disputed distribution system that barred wineries in 24 states from shipping directly to out-of-state customers.
New York either had to let all wineries sell directly to consumers or block all shipments. While state wineries pushed hard to remove shipping restrictions, Pataki insisted on one compromise: limiting customers to orders of 36 cases a year from any winery.
The law requires wineries to register with the state Tax Department and mandates that producers seeking to ship into New York are located in states that give New York vintners similar shipping privileges.
The law also requires package shippers like UPS to obtain photo identifications and signatures from customers before delivering wine.
Pataki noted before signing the bill that New York is the third largest producer of grapes in the nation. The wine and grape industry stimulates more than $500 million in gross annual sales and that produces about $85 million in state and local revenues.
The industry also generates 18,000 jobs, Pataki said.
Pataki said he has tried for many years to have the law changed to allow the direct shipment sales. When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down New York’s law restricting direct sales within the state as unfair in May, it opened the door to changing the law, he said.
“New York’s wine industry is one of the fastest growing and most successful segments of the state’s agriculture industry,” Pataki said. “This will allow New York’s wineries to grow by opening the doors to new markets across the nation.”
He said with the number of wineries in the state and the quality of their product, New York has a chance of reaching a global wine market.
After the signing, he said he thought the Finger Lakes region could become as big as Napa Valley in California.
“And it’s prettier,” he said, pointing out Seneca Lake below the winery. “They don’t have this lake.”
State Assemblyman Tom O’Mara, R-Horseheads, who attended the signing, said he was very pleased, as a co-sponsor, to be part of the bill.
“It will be fantastic for the Finger Lakes wine industry,” he said. “They’ve worked very hard for 15 years to make this happen.”
State Sen. George H. Winner Jr., R-Elmira, said he looks forward to better days ahead for the Southern Tier.
“It’s been a long time coming, but we’re finally beginning a new, modern economic era for New York state’s grape and wine industry,” Winner said in a news release. “It promises exciting economic opportunities for our wineries, and it’s a vital contribution to the overall economic future of the Finger Lakes region.”
Ben Dobbin of The Associated Press contributed to this report.
At a glance:
The new wine shipment law established a strict licensing mechanism to ensure that proper safeguards are in place to prevent underage drinking and to provide for the responsible shipment of wine to and from New York state, according to Gov. George Pataki. The law requires, among other things:
Limiting shipments from each winery to not more than 36 cases (no more than 9 liters each case) per year to a resident of New York.
Licensed wineries to sell their wines only to adults at least 21 years old.
Common carriers to obtain a valid photo identification and signature before delivering wine to a resident.
Each shipping container to be clearly labeled with the words “Contains Wine – Signature of Person Age 21 or Older Required for Delivery.”
Limiting shipments from wine manufacturers to not more than 36 cases (no more than 9 liters each case) per year to a resident of New York.
Licensed wineries to register with the Department of Taxation and Finance and pay all applicable state and local sales and excise taxes.
That out-of-state wineries that apply for a license to ship into New York must be in a state that affords New York wineries reciprocal shipping privileges
From the Archives — originally published on the Opelika Daily News on July 18, 2005. View the original page.
