Possibly. I could also see them going after the board itself so as to shut down the mechanism used by all of the illegal sellers. I could never predict ABCs plans.
Probably the real question is what money is in it for the prosecutors. If they can collect big enough fines from people with the ability to pay them, without much work, then there is probably a good chance they’ll get to it. I’m not sure what kind of fines a court would actually levy against someone who sold a case of Carlisle on Commerce Corner, though.
There’s no money, but often ABC simply wants to stop the behavior.
Well, didn’t they make life hard for a fellow board member who runs a certain event every year? Apparently, someone told the ABC and they took action. Would be interesting to know the whistleblower was though.
Peter, I haven’t been here long enough to have any idea what you are talking about. Can you clarify? By PM if you prefer.
Back when the Wine Commune forum was still active, the locals were quite verbal when WC turned over all their records to the Feds. Many large sellers were worried what would happen, but the boards were shut down soon after that and I never heard how many sellers they went after. I was a very small seller and was never contacted.
Twenty-some years ago a consumer in MD was busted for having wine delivered to his home - a couple of bottles of first growth I believe it was - it was a felony to ship, not sure what the liability was for the recipient - and the authorities came in force. I believe that charges were dropped, but not without considerable expense to the defendant.
Ten or 15 years ago UPS was confiscating and destroying wine that was shipped from California to West Virginia (a state that allowed interstate shipments) because it passed through a distribution center in nearby Hagerstown, MD (a felony state).
Last spring a restaurant owner in DC almost got physical with one of our group that wanted to take home the remains of a bottle from an offline. He was afraid his liquor license would be jeopardized by letting someone leave with an open container.
Earlier this month a restaurant in Frederick MD was cited by the local authorities because the manager tasted a wine that was sent back as flawed by a patron. They ran afoul of a local law against staff drinking on premises. The $300 fine was suspended but only if the behavior was not repeated over the next year. Wonder who reported him?
If you look, you can find examples of ridiculous laws and enforcement efforts. But overall I agree with John, the trend is towards easing of regulations. It’s now legal for wineries to ship into Maryland. And it’s legal to take home the remains of a bottle from a restaurant. We are making progress.
As to the OP’s question, it is illegal to resell in most jurisdictions without a license, but enforcement is lax to non-existent in most cases.