Direct-ship wine possible in Massachusetts

Gov. Deval Patrick

• From the Boston Herald

BOSTON -- Christmas may have arrived early for Bay State oenophiles.

Gov. Deval Patrick on Thursday may have inadvertently revived an issue that has flummoxed Bay State policymakers for years, lending support to a bill that would permit Massachusetts consumers to order direct wine shipments from out of state.

“I would sign that bill if it came,” he said during an appearance on WTKK in response to a question from a caller who identified himself as "Dan from Franklin" and said he was frustrated by restrictions on commerce.

Although in 2006 the U.S. Supreme Court struck down state laws that bar consumers from ordering wine shipments, Massachusetts is one of 12 states that have yet to comply. In fact, a Bay State effort to amend its laws in response to the decision was itself struck down in January 2010, the result of restrictions that lawmakers built into the law to protect local wineries from competition.

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