36 States No Longer Allow Out-of-State Wine Delivery

By Colier Sutter

Once upon a time, the internet was a magical place where you could order wine online from any state, no questions asked. But those days are long gone.

Laws requiring a license for interstate wine shipments, which were previously vague, are now being strictly enforced, according to The New York Times.

Over the span of the last year, carriers like FedEx and United Parcel Service have told retailers that they will no longer accept out-of-state shipments of alcohol unless they are headed to one of the 14 states which allow it. (If you live in Alaska, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska. Nevada, New Hampshire. New Mexico. North Dakota, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, or Wyoming you’re one of the lucky ones.)

Without the ability to shop from a variety of online retailers, consumers, especially those who live outside of big cities, will likely struggle to find the wine options they desire. The Times credits the sudden increase in cracking down to wine and spirit wholesalers looking to dominate the industry.

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Daniel Posner, president of the National Association of Wine Retailers, and owner of Grapes the Wine Company, told the newspaper, “As in anything in business, this is pure greed. There are very few industries that are so regulated. We have an authority that looks over us, that makes sure we pay our bills on time. We have a very rigid system in place, state by state,” he said. “These wholesalers, they hold all the cards.”

Wholesalers on the other hand, suggest that the need to enforce the interstate laws is to protect the public from underaged drinking and fraud.

Craig Wolf, president and chief executive of the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, told the Times that the tight laws will keep states honest and held accountable for their commerce, where as before “allowing retailers to sell out of state created a scenario for an unregulated system.”

Luckily, wineries are still in the clear in all of this. In 2005, a Supreme Court ruling lifted the ban on direct-to-consumer shipments from out-of-state wineries, allowing visiting tourists to take their stash home. It looks like we’ll all be booking a few more vacations to the vineyards.