Pinot Law

Last week, the Washington Post published an article on the front page of its Metro Section entitled “Grapes of Wealth, Potentially.”  The article is well worth the read, but the long and short of it is that the state of Maryland and local governments are doing what they can to help farmers transition from declining agricultural crops (e.g. tobacco) to wine-related agriculture (e.g. vineyards and wineries).  This would be the hand that giveth.

Unfortunately, Maryland also has one hand that taketh away.  Maryland is one of the few states in the Union with horrendous direct shipment laws.  I wrote about the plight of Maryland’s wineries back in March of this year when efforts were underway to change these laws.  Unfortunately, the wholesalers had their way.  It was a real shame that the Maryland legislature reached the wrong conclusion on this one.  There were a lot of good people that were trying to change these laws back in March — including one of my old law professors — and they tried as best they could to get a lot of good information out there.

I sincerely hope they make another crack at it this year.  As a winery owner in the Commonwealth of Virginia, I think it would be fantastic if our neighbors to the North could also establish themselves as a regional wine presence.  It would be great for consumers, and great for competition.