Free the Grapes!: Kansas Passes Winery Shipping Bill

36th State to Allow Winery-to-Consumer Shipments Starting July 1

NAPA, Calif.--(GrapeVineTrail)--Free the Grapes!, the national consumer-winery grassroots coalition, applauded the Kansas legislature and Governor Sebelius today for supporting consumer choice in wine by passing Senate Bill 212 on April 20. Kansas is the 36th state to pass some form of winery shipping legislation. www.freethegrapes.org

The law replaces the unworkable “special order” provision that required wine shipments to be made through a Kansas retailer.

The new law goes into effect July 1, 2009 and will allow wineries licensed by the state to ship up to 12 cases of wine for personal use per address per year. Among other provisions, wineries are required to pay a $50 licensing fee ($10 per annual renewal), collect and remit annual sales and excise taxes, and use an age verification system prior to shipping orders.

Developed by wineries, wholesalers and regulators, the new statute will dramatically expand consumer choice for Kansas wine consumers. There are now more than 6,000 wineries in the United States, at least one in each state. But less than 17% of wineries have national distribution, based on a 2003 survey by Wine Institute in California.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on direct shipping in May 2005, winery-to-consumer shipping has become legal in 36 states, which collectively represent more than 81% of wine consumption in the U.S. (source: Adams Wine Handbook 2007). Free the Grapes! is a national consumer-winery grassroots coalition of more than 300,000 members and supports legal, regulated direct-to-consumer wine shipments.
Contacts

Free the Grapes!
Jeremy Benson, 707-254-1107
fedup@freethegrapes.org