Hey guys! I’m a reporter at the Globe and I could use your help with a story we’re working on.
As I’m sure all you wine-loving Massachusetts residents know, it’s very difficult to get wine shipped to your door from out-of-state vineyards. We’re writing a story about the new law intended to make such shipments easier, which goes into effect on Jan. 1. (I previously wrote about the unintended consequences of this law for Mass.-based farmer-wineries: Mass. farmer-wineries decry change to law - The Boston Globe)
EDIT: I WAS looking to speak with people who had wine shipped to friends in nearby states. Given the legal concerns you all rightly raised, let’s just focus on the simpler/bigger question: How frustrating have the old rules been for you, and are you excited about possibly getting direct shipments of your favorite wine? (And, what do you think of the crazy-complicated rules about alcohol in Massachusetts?)
Sound like something you can help with? If so, I’d like to chat with you on the phone for 5 or 10 minutes. You can comment here or, preferably, shoot me an email with your contact information. I’m at daniel.adams@globe.com. If you have a good story, it’ll be in the Globe. And if a bunch of good stories get posted in this thread, I’ll put a link in our article that points here.
Thanks! Looking forward to chatting wine with you.
You could also write about the fact that it’s completely impossible for MA residents to have wine shipped to them from out of state retailers. That’s severely punitive, and puts them at the mercy of whatever wines the big importers and wholesalers choose to bring into the state. Compared to many other states (I live in California), MA residents are at a large disadvantage.
MA retailers are also prohibited from shipping out of state, which severely restricts their business opportunities relative to retailers in most other states, who can.
The real angle for your story should be the corruption between wholesalers, and the politicians they pay off to maintain their little walled fiefdoms - all based on an arcane, anachronistic constitutional amendment that happened to be passed during a much different time in our history. It serves no purpose other than to give politicians and bureaucrats the legal ability to deny citizens the freedom to make their own choices in buying wines and other alcoholic beverages.
Great question. My understanding is that the law takes effect on January 1. After that, there will be a delay as everyone applies for the new licenses, etc. I hope to have a better answer from the state on this by the time we run the story, so stand by for more details.
While it is true that no one is likely to get in trouble for doing it (as long as they don’t flout it publicly … oh, wait) it is indeed illegal for an unlicensed individual to carry alcoholic beverages across state lines, even for personal use. See for example this article from your web site:
It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about the shipping to friends in other states. I’d also be happy to hear generally from frustrated Massachusetts wine-lovers who can’t get the wines they want.
Good find - but as you saw in the story, the attitude of the staties and local cops was basically, “whatever.” Unless you’re bringing in huge quantities for commercial reasons. No one has ever been punished for it.
Well, I don’t think that anyone has ever tried to become “sorta semi-famous” for doing it either. State Liquor boards turn a blind eye to all sorts of things, but tend to get nasty when people are public about breaking the rules. I remember a number of years back when the NY Times did an article on restaurants that let you BYO because they didn’t have a liquor license. That’s a practice that the NY SLA routinely tolerates, but once it was in the paper they started cracking down aggressively.
I know that if I was talking to a reporter about carrying wines across state lines, I wouldn’t want my name used.
The PA State Police used to watch the parking lots of Camden liquor stores for cars with PA plates and them bust them when they drove back home. I don’t know if they still do that or not.
Dan – It’s not your original topic, but the inverse: Massachusetts won’t let its retailers export to other states. I tried to have a store in Western Massachusetts ship wine to me in NY ten years or so ago and they said absolutely no way. Then I was going to Boston for work and asked if they could ship it there, but the cost to ship four bottles the length of the state was prohibitive.
I should add that I hope this article gets written and Dan gets a lot of great replies. The story needs to be told. I just think that people need to be cautious about identifying themselves if they’re doing anything not in compliance with state laws.
It seems quite odd to me that a writer/reporter for a newspaper would expose their source material to any possible consequences. Saying that you “doubt” anyone will get in trouble and not knowing the penalties seems a bit unprofessional (and I mean that as politely as possible). I could absolutely understand asking individuals to remain anonymous, but keep in mind that there are likely some people who have transported hundreds to thousands of bottles of wine across state lines. Assuming that the Massachusetts enforcement will turn a blind eye or not care seems a little reckless.
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