For two months now, Maryland has had the privilege of direct shipping from wineries. I’ve been hearing a lot around the web about ways to get wine now. You like lots of choices, right? Richard Gorelick of the Baltimore Sun wrote at the beginning of August about Lot18 starting to ship to Marylanders. Save that [...]
The Maryland General Assembly wrapped up the 2011 session late Monday night with mixed blessings for wine lovers across the state. Although we finally got a direct shipping law passed (albeit somewhat watered down with retailers left in the cold), we also got a significant bump in the taxes levied on alcoholic beverages. The governor [...]
Looks like tomorrow is the big day. After years of “almost theres” and “maybe soons”, the full Maryland House of Delegates and Senate are set to vote on a piece of legislation that would allow direct shipments of wine to consumers on Friday, March 25. Some wines, that is. The house and senate bills cleared [...]
On 3/4 both the house and senate committees responsible for alcoholic beverage legislation will examine the direct wine shipping bill. Click here to look up and contact your elected officials about this issue now > While you’ve heard in the media that some form of direct shipping is likely to pass this year, the respective [...]
Helloooo Vinotrippers! Ah, the holidays. A time for some rest and relaxation. Nothing important going on. Just spend some time on the couch with a good… wait, what’s that? All sorts of news about the Comptroller’s final report on direct wine shipping? Yes, that’s right. In case you somehow missed the coverage already in the [...]
Leaders in the Maryland Legislature, via a Baltimore Sun article by Annie Linskey, just gave wine lovers in the state an extra reason to give thanks this holiday season with some positive news regarding the possibility of passing the direct wine shipping bill in 2011. Read the full article in today’s paper or click on [...]
It’s election season in Maryland (I highly recommend early voting – no lines!) and that means it’s time to re-elect all of our state legislators. Will your vote be influenced by the direct wine shipping legislation? If you live in Senator Conway’s district, you should strongly consider it given her pocket veto of the consumer-friendly [...]
As you may recall from this post on the Free State Wine Project, Adam Borden resigned as executive director of consumer advocacy group Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws (MBBWL) back in March amid accusations of… “aggressive” tactics in support of a bill that would have allowed direct shipments of wine to Maryland consumers [...]
I got a lump of coal in my decanter this year. Vinfolio, my former employer and current wine retailer of choice, has stopped shipping wine to Virginia. Word is that previously un-enforcable tax laws and laws governing third-party shippers are suddenly getting lots of attention. Many retailers who wish to play by the rules are [...]
Pinot Law went into a great in-depth post about where underage kids get their alcohol. I ramble on and blowhard about things from time to time, but it’s nice to see people actually doing the legwork and producing actual numbers. Regarding the data, Pinot Law asserts: Although the chart identifies the numerous ways in which [...]
