New Jersey – A lobbying group for on-line and mail-order wine sellers is trying to enlist Jewish allies in its effort to loosen New Jersey’s tight restrictions on direct wine shipments to consumers.
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New Jersey is one of 15 states that outlaw buying and selling alcoholic beverages by mail or through Internet websites.
In its latest bid to lift the restrictions, a lobbying group for such sellers, UncorkNJ, argues that the law “severely” restricts wine choices for kosher consumers.
The group’s spokesman happens to be a heavy hitter in Jewish political circles. Steven Some of Skillman is a Trenton lobbyist who has been active in the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, the Republican Jewish Coalition, and the Jewish Policy Center in Washington, DC.
“There is a very big Jewish angle to the story,” said Some.
“Small wineries in California and other parts of the United States are making good quality kosher wines, because people who observe dietary laws want to have good wine. They don’t want just the traditional Manischewitz. But their selection is limited. Liquor stores do not carry a broad range of kosher wines, and the wholesalers do not have a lot of inventory.”
To overcome that restriction, NJ Senate Majority Leader Stephen M. Sweeney and Assemblyman John Burzichelli, both Democrats from District 3 in Gloucester County, have introduced bills that would allow on-line purchases of wine.
A snowstorm forced legislators to cancel hearings that might have enabled the bill to pass before Passover, when kosher wine-buying is at its peak, said Some.
But supporters hope the measure can pass both houses of the legislature by June.
Lobbyist Some believes liquor wholesalers and retailers are concerned about facing new competition, “but the floodgates are not going to open up here. When other states changed their laws, no retailers were impacted at all,” he argued.
But the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America say they have another concern.
Despite a provision in the bill that would require people over 21 to sign for any alcohol deliveries, Nancy White, a spokeswoman for the trade association, said the proposed law could make it easier for teenagers to drink.
“It’s not just about kids buying wine on the Internet,” she told the Courier-Post. “It’s about kids picking up the box of wine from the front porch.”
I think it’s a wonderful idea. Competition is alway good for the consumer. It should be passed in NY also. Supermarkets should also be allowed to sell wine in NY where they currently can’t.
Liquer stores currently carry a limited selection of quality kosher wine and those that do have a great assortment usually overcharge.
This bill is obviously going to be opposed by the retail trade because it would force them to compete by lowering prices.
“It’s about kids picking up the box of wine from the front porch.”
Oh please, the same kid will find it two days later even if it was purchased at a local store, you can’t safe guard any of these, its total nonsense.
As someone who lives outside of a traditional “frum” community in FL, we rely on the Internet for wine purchases. We went from paying $17-$18/bottle of average wines (Herzog, Rashi, Carmel, etc.) to paying about $9 ($11 with shipping). Internet sales creates competition and expands the marketplace for everyone. In these times, anything that creates more business opportunity and competition is good for everyone.
and the kid taking the wine from a closet inside the house any diffrent then taking the box from the front porch ?? sounds like the retailers are scared they wont match the price so the consumer loses out again!
Where can I find kosher wine online?
Try Snooth – they are a search engine for wines / prices.
Why will retailers be hurt. Consumers will still buy from the liquor retailer for convience. In Australia we have Online, mail order, liquor retailer and supermarkets all competing for the same market. Supermarkets generally only stock the main lines by Fosters or Constellation or some of the larger family owned wineries but it is the liquor retailers and the online stores that stock that something different you are looking for. It works in a county of only 20 (odd) million people surely the USA can support all logistical avenues. PS we still have the same underage drinking issue thew USA and the rest of the world does.
i live in FLA and directly buy wine from several wineries on the left coast. i only purchase wines I can not find anywhere in FLA. THe shipping charges limits your purchases to just the special wines you can not buy from your local retailer. We require a signature and photo id for all deliveries so there is no ‘kids taking the shipment off the front step’. And i can not believe that teenagers wanting to score a few btls of wine will order them directly and pay over $5/btl for shipping and then have to find someone over 21 to sign for the purchase. if they have an of age friend willing to sign for the wine heck their friend will go to the local retailer and buy some really great wine for $5 from the Southern Hemisphere. They surely won’t be buying wine for $30/btl from CA. And now that i have developed my palate for great wines I am spending more money at my local wine shop and drinking wine more and liquor less on the occasions I want an adult beverage.
It’s ridiculous that you as a consumer can’t purchase wine directly from the winery.
The the wholesalers way of keeping all the profit.