The nation's largest online retailer, Amazon.com, is getting into the wine business hoping to put millions of Web shoppers keystrokes away from the wines they want.
But Pennsylvania citizens shouldn't get too excited about the prospect; shipping wine to consumers in the state is still against the law for retailers such as Amazon.com.
Pennsylvania is one of a small handful of states with a monopoly on wine and spirit sales. With the exception of in-state wineries, all alcohol is sold through state-run retail stores. Shipping wine to consumers is also largely prohibited, save for in-state wineries that can sell and ship to fellow Pennsylvanians.
"There is no likelihood of Pennsylvanians buying wine on Amazon since the state does not allow direct shipping from wineries or retailers," said Tom Wark of the California-based American Wine Consumer Coalition. The group will release a ranking of states by wine consumer friendliness early next year. Mr. Wark offered a preview: Pennsylvania will rank 48th.
The group's survey of wine consumers showed that the biggest obstacles to their access and enjoyment of wine were state monopolies and a prohibition of direct sales. Pennsylvania has both.
"In every case, monopolies lead to poor choice, lack of access and lack of service," Mr. Wark said, adding that Amazon's entry into wine will help further legitimize online wine buying.
Stacy Kriedeman, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, said the state liquor code is clear on the direct shipping: it's generally not allowed. The exceptions are Pennsylvania limited wineries and one of 42 entities that have state direct shipper licenses, but must ship in a less-than-direct manner. They ship to the state-run stores for pickup by consumers, who have to pay a $4.50 handling charge, 18 percent liquor tax and 6 percent sales tax.
Amazon will not be storing, or even shipping the wine. Having established relationships with wineries, Amazon will be the order taker. The order will be fulfilled by a winery. The site will allow consumers to search by high-scoring wines, appellation, or the characteristic of a wine.
The service will be available to California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming and the District of Columbia, with others added "soon," Amazon.com said.
The last legislative session in Harrisburg brought a flurry of attempts to privatize the state monopoly, a relic from the repeal of Prohibition. A proposal to allow limited direct shipping died after it was linked to the privatization bill. Advocates have promised to reintroduce privatization. A Philadelphia Inquirer survey of likely Pennsylvania voters supported privatization by 2 to 1, with 55 percent favoring privatization, 28 percent opposed to it, and 17 percent indifferent or unaware of the issue.
Contact the writer: dfalchek@timesshamrock.com