It's Complicated...Leave Figuring Out Wine Shipping Laws to the Professionals
New York Lawmakers are on the job.
If you aren’t an elected lawmaker and swim in the pool of legislative churn, it’s admittedly challenging to put yourself in the head of those folks who do. After all, there must be complications we don’t see that might prevent an otherwise level-headed lawmaker from jumping on the bandwagon of what appears to be commonsense proposals.
Then there is alcohol-related legislation. Take New York State.
In the Empire State, it is legal for consumers to have wine shipped to them from a New York-based winery.
In the Empire State, it is legal for a consumer to have wine shipped to them from a New York-based wine store.
In the Empire State, it is legal for consumers to have wine shipped to them from an out-of-state winery.
However, the New York consumer looking to have wine shipped to them from an out-of-state wine store will find this is entirely illegal.
Why, you may ask? Don’t ask. It’s one of those very challenging issues that mere mortals can’t wrap their heads around. It is a very, very complicated matter that only trained lawmakers are capable of assessing properly.
Happily, the Drinks Business publication has the lawmakers’ backs and laid out the issues for them concerning efforts to address this issue.
You see, a set of bills recently introduced in New York will allow the state’s lawmakers to get their heads in the game and assess the implications of allowing a simple-minded consumer in Westchester County, the Bronx, or Corning to open their computer, navigate to the website of a licensed wine store in Chicago, order a reasonably priced Rhone red, and have it delivered to their door.
Yes, it’s complicated. It’s complicated despite the fact that our imaginary wine consumer may already do this legally as long as the place they are ordering from is a store in NY and not in Chicago.
Here’s why this proposed legislation, (designated in the NY Senate as SB 1700 and in the Assembly as AS 556) is so complicated: