>On a voting spree, N.J. Senate backs winery sales
December 16, 2011|By Maya Rao, Inquirer Trenton Bureau
TRENTON – Small wineries could directly ship wine to consumers and retailers under legislation that passed the Senate, 23-13, on Thursday, one of dozens of bills that lawmakers sped through in their last voting session of the year.
“New Jersey wineries are by and large considered among the best in the country, but consumer access to these wines is still severely limited. This legislation will change all of that,” Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester), a sponsor, said in a statement.
The legislation affects wineries that produce up to 250,000 gallons of wine a year.
Attempts to lift the state’s requirement that wineries sell to state-licensed wholesalers have long stalled in the Legislature. And a federal court ruling last year struck down an arrangement under which New Jersey allowed small wineries to sell wine at a few locations without wholesalers because it did not allow out-of-state wineries the same option.
https://articles.philly.com/2011-12-16/news/30524904_1_wineries-legislation-ship-wine
