Free the Grapes! Urges Wine Lovers to Speak Out Against House Bill 187
Delaware is still one of the few states in the nation that continues an archaic ban on direct-to-consumer winery shipments. The latest bill being introduced to address this is a step backward in the fight for consumer choice and direct shipping. HB 187 - Delaware's "Anti" Direct Shipping bill - will deny consumers real choice in which wines they can receive via direct shipping. Free the Grapes! urges wine lovers to object to HB 187, which will be heard by the House Economic Development/ Banking/Commerce and Insurance Committee at noon on Tuesday, June 17th in Dover.
Action: Take two minutes to send a personalized message to your state legislators voicing your objection to the bill.
HB 187 (Smith) is Delware's “anti” direct shipping bill. It is positioned as a bill that will allow wine shipping to Delawareans, but has so many limitations as to be completely unworkable for direct shipping in practice. This bill will prohibit shipment of wine currently on “the list” of wine represented by a Delaware wholesaler, and thus also excludes shipping by small wineries owned by larger parent wine companies. These limits are a poison pill in the bill that are supported by wholesalers who are against direct shipping. Legislators in all but four states with wine shipping laws have considered, and soundly rejected, similar limitations.
Needless restrictions
Delaware consumers continue to face needless restrictions on how they purchase and enjoy wine, and HB 187 does not provide a viable framework for allowing regulated DTC shipments into the state We are calling on wine lovers to object to HB 187 and write to your Delaware legislator to let them know this bill should not be passed.
Which wines are available in Delaware changes daily, and consumers don’t have access to “the list”. How can Delaware wine lovers know if their favorite wine is sold in state, where it might be in stock, or whether it is allowed to be shipped to their door? And what if the parent winery sells in Delaware but the smaller winery owned by that group does not? These are just some of the complications in HB 187 that will confuse and frustrate consumers and wineries alike. Wine lovers in other states do not have to navigate this labyrinth of availability; they can place an order with their favorite winery just as they do with so many other products.
Penalizing limitations
There are other limitations which, in effect, penalize wineries from shipping to consumers in the state. If a winery were to find some success with winery-to-consumer direct shipping and is able to ship above certain quantities, they could see the cost of their shipping license increase dramatically or even lose the ability to ship at all and be forced to only distribute their wines via a Delaware wholesaler.
Lend your voice to the fight today, together with you, we hope to expand wine availability in “The First State.”