***IMPORTANT NOTICE TO OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS***

To comply with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Granholm case the legislature must amend the Liquor Code.  For those of you who are unfamiliar, in the Granholm case, the United States Supreme Court held that it is unconstitutional to prohibit shipment of wine direct to the consumer across state lines.  In essence it is discriminatory to prohibit a winery from New York to ship wine to a customer in Pennsylvania when a Pennsylvania winery can ship to customers in Pennsylvania.  Therefore, state legislatures across the United States are now grappling with amendments to their state Liquor Codes so as to comply with the Supreme Court ruling. 

Such is the case with the Pennsylvania legislature.  The Bill includes a number of amendments to the present Pennsylvania Liquor Code that could be potentially devastating to the Pennsylvania Wine Industry.  A few of the key provisions include:

• Prohibition of direct shipment to customers (no direct shipment or delivery to licensees or non-licensees unless done through the state store system)
• Dropping the size of a “limited winery” (limiting the ability of wineries to grow)
• Prohibition of co-op satellites with other wineries (Prohibiting two or more small wineries to band together to open up satellite stores as a means for new avenues to sell their product)

Initially, upon reading the bill, one may think, “How can the State prohibit wineries from shipping direct to the consumer when the Supreme Court found the practice to be unconstitutional?”.  Good question.  The answer is that the Supreme Court did not find it unconstitutional to prohibit direct shipment.  The Supreme Court held only that it is discriminatory to allow preferences to in state wineries that are not enjoyed by out of state wineries.  One solution to that problem is to prohibit shipment direct to consumers all together.  This is a practice called “leveling down” and it is already happening in some states. 

The plain truth is that the Pennsylvania Wine Industry is being threatened.  Large liquor wholesalers are trying to seize the moment by persuading state legislatures to “level down” so that they will be the only avenue through which wineries can sell their product.  What do the wholesalers have on their side?  Money, time, and influence.  Wholesalers do not invest a dime into production, equipment, labor, or agriculture.  They just buy and sell product as a commodity.  They are not invested in the growth of an industry.  There are currently 111 wineries in Pennsylvania, the vast majority of which are small, family owned farm wineries that will be the most severely hit by this piece of legislation. 

This is why we need your help.  We ask that you contact your local congressperson and voice your opposition to House Bill 2450.  In this day and age it may seem futile to call your representative but it truly makes a difference.  If you are not sure who you legislator is please go to www.legis.state.pa.us and find them.  We will need all the help we can get.