Legislature OKs Bill Dropping Limits On Interstate Wine Sales

Sacramento, CA — California lawmakers have approved legislation that would drop restrictions on interstate sales of wine and bring state law into compliance with a recent U-S Supreme Court decision.

The measure would allow out-of-state vintners to sell directly to California residents by obtaining a 10 dollar permit. Current law allows California residents to buy up to two cases of wine a month from wineries in other states but only if those states also allow Mother Lode vintners to sell directly to their residents.

The bill would remove the two-case limit and drop the reciprocity requirement, bringing California law into line with a May 16th decision by the Supreme Court. That 5-to-4 ruling said states can´t ban, or severely restrict, out-of-state wine sales if they also allow in-state wineries to sell directly to their residents, as California does.