Although it won't help us in the Port market, those looking for California fortified wines or any other wine from the US, this is a great step forward.
Massachusetts wine consumers were the winners in today's court ruling by Judge Rya Zobel that allows wineries of all production sizes to ship directly to adult residents. The decision in Family Winemakers of California v. Jenkins enjoined the state from enforcing its law that prohibits wineries producing more than 30,000 gallons from shipping if they have wholesaler agreements. “Consumers and wineries have waited a long two years for this day," said Jim Gullett, chair of Family Winemakers of California (FWC) and owner of Vino Noceto in Plymouth, California. "This was a long, thorough and expensive process, but we're gratified the court acknowledges that post-Granholm discriminatory laws like production caps cannot pass legal muster.
I wonder how this will play out. The story hasn't received much attention in the local media. I wonder if it's somehow connected to the FBI operation against some of our beloved political celebrities.
I'm not sure what all the court ruling allows. The article only mentions shipments direct from wine producers themselves. I don't know if the ruling also includes shipments from just retail stores. Has anyone heard more info about it?
My reading of it is pretty specific - it allows wineries to ship directly to consumers in Mass. It doesn't appear to change anything regarding shipments leaving the state, so all those great shops that Moses buys from are still useless to the rest of us.
But it's entirely possible that there's more to the ruling than has been reported. One can only hope, as there are a couple of bottles in Mass. that I'd really like to order but can't!
