Direct Shipping hearing set for March 4

The big news this week is that the Maryland General Assembly is closer than ever to passing a Direct Shipping bill, which would allow Maryland citizens to receive wine by mail from wineries and wine-of-the-month clubs. We're asking friends and fellow wine lovers to contact your legislator before Friday to show your support for direct-to-consumer shipment of wine. March 4th is the day both bills will be heard by the respective legislative committees in Annapolis. According to the Maryland Wineries Association, "Even with the overwhelming support—a majority of the legislature—there are interest groups hard at work to cripple the bills, trying to limit WHICH wines can be shipped, and from WHICH sources (wineries OR retailers/wine-of-the-month clubs, etc.)."

Please let your legislators know that you want:
     - a law based on national standards and the Comptroller's Study on Direct Shipping;
     - a law that allows you to receive wine from wineries and retailers;
     - a law that lets Maryland wineries ship to other states (like NY, which will only let MD wineries ship in if MD's law is based on national standards).

This bill would allow us to ship wine directly to consumers around the state and even to other states- saving you the trouble of trying to bring wine home or the risk of packing it for your flight. Maryland is currently 1 of only 13 states which does not allow direct shipping, despite age identification precautions in place by national shipping companies like UPS and FedEx. 


For much more information about the history of the legislation, please visit the Maryland Wineries Association website.