Proposal would end ban on shipping N.J. wines to your door

Eight hundred cases of freshly bottled wine are stacked against a wall at Balic Winery in Hamilton Township.

Most will be purchased by visitors to the 57-acre vineyard, the rest by customers at one of the winery's local distributors.

Like all of New Jersey's more than three-dozen wineries, Balic is prohibited by state law from shipping wine directly to consumers.

"It makes it harder for us smaller wineries to sell our wines, because we do not have the big distribution network that the biggest wineries have. We simply cannot afford it," said Bojan Boskovic, owner of Balic Winery.

This would change under a bill introduced by a pair of area legislators.

If made law, the bill, S1810/A2656, sponsored by state Senate Majority Leader Stephen M. Sweeney and Assemblyman John J. Burzichelli, both D-Salem, Gloucester, Cumberland, would allow New Jersey's wine enthusiasts to get their favorite wines sent directly to their homes. That's currently allowed in 35 states.

It would also allow the state's wineries to ship their wines directly to consumers, instead of relying on wholesalers and distributors to do it for them. The change is opposed by much of the liquor industry and the state Attorney General's Office.

"It's something that's good for all wineries, big and small, because it allows us to get our wine to the people who want it," Boskovic said.

The staff at the 15-acre Cape May Winery and Vineyard is accustomed to fielding requests from tourists to have wine shipped to their homes.

"Financially, (direct shipping) would help us but it wouldn't be a huge increase," winemaker Darren Hesington said, adding the winery has increased its production from 3,000 gallons in 2003 to an anticipated 20,000 gallons this year. "But from a customer services standpoint, it would be tremendous."

Jack Tomasello, the owner of Tomasello Winery in Hammonton, said not every New Jersey winery would see a significant increase in profits with direct shipping.

"I'd be in favor of it, but I don't think it would impact us as much as it would a smaller operation that isn't big enough to sell wholesale," Tomasello said of his 70-acre winery. "Right now, New Jersey wineries can have outlets in restaurants and I would be more concerned about losing that ability than passing a shipping bill. Small New Jersey wineries could not survive without those outlets."

Tomasello said he thinks the legislators will have a very difficult time getting their bill passed.

"New Jersey runs with a three-tier system made up of wineries, wholesalers and distributors. A direct shipping law could hurt the middle man," Tomasello said. "That is why there's been a ton of opposition every time they've tried to get a law like this passed."

Representatives from the state Division of Alcohol and Beverage Control would not comment on direct shipping due to pending litigation against the state on the issue.

However, in the state's brief in the litigation, Attorney General Anne Milgram argues "a failure to uphold New Jersey's right to evenhandedly regulate the sale and shipment of alcohol by wineries to in-state consumers will allow the unregulated flow of alcohol. This lack of regulation can lead to illegal activity, including shipment to underage individuals, the sale of adulterated products and the possibility of organized crime involvement in disguised Internet schemes."

Fred Barnes, president of the New Jersey Licensed Beverage Association, agrees.

"There are really no regulations to it. You don't know who's getting the wine, whether it's underage children or what. All they need is their parents credit cards to get it," Barnes said. "It's like calling up for a pizza."

Barnes also said direct shipping would increase the already heavy financial burden on the state's bars and liquor stores.

"It's hard enough to get people to go out and do things in this economy. This would be just another reason to get people to stay in their homes," he said. "With all the new taxes and license fees, we constantly have to fight to keep what we do have. Direct shipping would be just another knock at our industry."

Burzichelli called these criticisms "clumsy and unfair."

"There are a number of checks and balances that exist within this legislation that would guarantee that packages are properly marked and must be signed for by an of-age person. It would unreasonable to think that it would be foolproof. But what we have now isn't. Underage drinking is a ritual for some people," said Burzichelli, who expects the bill to be heard by committee during the first quarter of the year.

"The existing system is antiquated and doesn't fit in with how society currently works in the era of eBay and Internet shopping," he said. "It has served its useful purpose, but it's time to update it."