On November 13, 2014, Governor Cuomo signed the Craft New York Act, a craft beverage law that cuts burdensome restrictions and eases marketing requirements for craft beverage producers. Additionally, to further develop New York’s growing craft beverage industry, Governor Cuomo also launched the Craft Beverage Grant program, which creates a $2 million Craft…
Category: Wine Bills
Why New York is Positioned to Take the Wine Industry by Storm: A Legal Perspective
New York is home to over four hundred wineries as of March 2014. See New York Wine and Grape Foundation: Wineries by County. While this number may not compete with the amount of wineries currently housed by California, it makes New York home to the greatest number of wineries on the East…
Arizona Passes Law Allowing Wineries and Breweries on Same Premises
A few months ago, On Reserve posted an article about the two sisters in Arizona seeking to open a winery-brewery establishment. As of last week, the Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed a bill into law that allows both a winery and a brewery to operate on the same land. The…
Wine Law Wrap-Up for the Week of March 18, 2013
Some very exciting wine law news emerged this week, including two stories that top the headlines of many leading publications. In the state of Massachusetts comes a story about direct shipment and a public figure. On the opposite end of the legal spectrum, we have a pending lawsuit brought by…
Friendlier Legislation for New York State Farm Wineries
As a New York resident—and a very strong advocate for both New York wineries and the development of the state’s wine law—I am excited to announce that the New York State Governor, Andrew Cuomo, signed a bill, entitled the Fine Winery Bill, on Friday that significantly reduces the regulatory burdens…
Direct Shipment of Wine Could Soon be Allowed in Maryland
Note: There were several corrections made to this entry post-publication. The author would like to specifically point out that direct shipment is not yet allowed in Maryland, but it appears that direct shipment will soon be available in Maryland in the upcoming months. We apologize for any confusion the original…
H.R. 5034 is Now H.R. 1161
The bill many wine lovers feared last year, H.R. 5034 or the Comprehensive Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness Act (CARE), is now known as H.R. 1161, the Community Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness Act of 2011. The text of the 2011 Act is identical to the second version of H.R. 5034 introduced to the…
More Liberalized Wine Regulation in Oklahoma?
Current reforms proposed by legislators in Oklahoma call for a more liberalized regulation of liquor and wine sales in Oklahoma. The state, the last state to legalize liquor drinking and previously one of the most conservative in terms of alcohol regulation, shows several attempts to modernize its laws. Senator Clark…
Maryland Border States Create Indirect Smuggling Routes for Direct Shipment of Wine
Today, The Washington Post published an interesting article regarding the state of Maryland, its surrounding constituents, and direct shipment laws. Maryland is presently a state that does not allow direct shipment of wine to consumers; therefore, to obtain wine, a customer must purchase it from a store or other retail…
Overdose on Michigan Wine Law
This past weekend, the state of Michigan hit wine law news on two very important, but separate accounts. Firstly, last Wednesday, the Michigan House and Senate passed legislation with respect to liquor control policy in the state. The Senate and the House both passed a bill that allows Michigan establishments to…