Maryland legislators will once again vote on a direct shipping bill. The bill comes up every year and has trouble making it out of the committee. In Maryland, Maryland wineries as well as wineries throughout the world may not ship wine to Maryland residents. Why do I consider this below average? Because 60 percent of the country does allow wineries to ship wine to consumers in their states. Why doesn’t Maryland?

Perhaps it goes back to Prohibition and our politicians keep an outdated frame of mind. Or perhaps it is the liquor wholesalers who lobby against direct shipping in Maryland. One argument they use to frighten legislators is just as archaic as Prohibition, teens are going to get on the Internet and order wine. This argument falls on deaf ears to learned people who realize that there is no research to indicate this is a fact. It is not a problem in any of the states that allow direct shipping.

It seems to come down to how much business liquor wholesalers will lose to direct shipping. It looks like one percent must be a big cut in profits. What can Maryland residents do? Continue to let their representatives know they want direct shipping. If we do not get it, vote the incumbents out of office in November.