The Baltimore Sun reports that the Maryland State Comptroller has ordered the state’s wineries to stop selling wine directly to stores and restaurants, a decision that some say could doom the farm wine industry in the state.
The decision goes back to a Supreme Court ruling last year saying that states could not allow in-state direct shipping by wineries while banning out-of-state direct shipping. It has to be everything or nothing, the Supreme Court said.
The decision never should have had an impact on the Maryland wine business, the Sun writes, but then a lawsuit challenged the Maryland statute that prohibits all direct shipments to consumers. The lawsuit maintains that Maryland’s laws favor in-state wineries over out-of-state wineries because they allow the in-state businesses to direct ship to restaurants and retailers, something that out-of-state wineries are forbidden from doing.
Maryland wineries will now be forced to work with wholesalers, which some think could put some wineries out of business.
The decision goes back to a Supreme Court ruling last year saying that states could not allow in-state direct shipping by wineries while banning out-of-state direct shipping. It has to be everything or nothing, the Supreme Court said.
The decision never should have had an impact on the Maryland wine business, the Sun writes, but then a lawsuit challenged the Maryland statute that prohibits all direct shipments to consumers. The lawsuit maintains that Maryland’s laws favor in-state wineries over out-of-state wineries because they allow the in-state businesses to direct ship to restaurants and retailers, something that out-of-state wineries are forbidden from doing.
Maryland wineries will now be forced to work with wholesalers, which some think could put some wineries out of business.
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