Fine Wines and Wine Fines

Restrictions on interstate sales of alcoholic beverages turn oenophiles into smugglers.

James Plummer from the November 1997 issue

(Page 2 of 2)

Bucking the laws can be risky. Maryland's Alcoholic Beverage Control Board recently nabbed California's Kendall-Jackson Winery in a sting operation. An ABC employee ordered one bottle of wine delivered to his home and a case delivered to his office. Kendall-Jackson elected to pay a $35,000 fine rather than face restrictions on its license to supply wholesalers. The board fined another California vintner $5,000. Maryland law provides for "the seizure of any contraband product and any vehicle or conveyance used to transport such contraband"--a policy that may have prompted FedEx's recent decision to refuse all shipment, legal or illegal, of any alcohol into or out of Maryland.

There are ways to dodge the restrictions. When potential customers call Adelaida only to find that their state prohibits mail-order wine, van Steenwyk says, "They ask, `What's the work-around?' Then they ship it to their brother in another state, and when they visit their brother they come home with their wine."

If they have a broken taillight, they'd better hope the highway officer who pulls them over isn't familiar with laws regulating personal transport of alcoholic beverages. Many states require residents who bring wine back with them from other states to pay taxes or obtain a permit if the amount exceeds a certain limit, typically a case. It's doubtful that such rules deter many oenophiles. Says Bolick, who tours Sonoma Valley wineries once a year, "I can carry extremely heavy luggage back from California." So far he has not spotted any wine-sniffing dogs at the airport.