Pinot Law

No, this is not an opportunity for another New Jersey joke (what exit?!).  As a Jersey native, I was thrilled to read this morning that my home state is considering a change to their direct to consumer shipment laws.  As some of you reading this blog may be aware, New Jersey is one of the few states that still prohibits direct to consumer shipments of wine.

While thrilled to read about this development, I was nevertheless upset to see the same tired arguments trotted out by opponents to this legislation: underage drinkers will have access to wine over the Internet!  The mob is bound to get involved!

Of course such arguments are coming from the likes of Fred Barnes, of the New Jersey Licensed Beverage Association.  Mr. Barnes is quoted in the article as saying “There are really no regulations to it. You don’t know who’s getting the wine, whether it’s underage children or what. All they need is their parents credit cards to get it . . . It’s like calling up for a pizza.”

No regulations?  Not exactly.  Just some of Virginia’s regulations, rules and policies governing the sale and distribution of wine to consumers can be read here, here, here, here, here, here and here).  And those are just some of the requirements for intrastate wine shipments to consumers.

And finally, the process is hardly like “calling up for a pizza.”  Dominoes, Pizza Hut and (my personal favorite) Church Street Pizzeria don’t card me when they deliver a pizza to my door — fortunately for wineries shipping wine to other states, FedEx does.  Of course,Mr. Barnes’ true colors are revealed later in the article when he says, ”Direct shipping would be just another knock at our industry.”  It’s all about the Benjamins.

While Fred’s statement is typical, what is unfortunate is that policy makers in New Jersey — including the state’s Attorney General Anne Milgram — are parroting the exact same arguments.  Hopefully, the New Jersey legislature won’t give us another reason to laugh at the state’s expense.

jersey_turnpike_rainbow used under a Creative Commons license provided by dandeluca.