Senate begins action on reshaping Tenn. wine law; Wineries want change

Chattanooga (WRCB)- "Like everybody else I want to expand my profit.  This is a way to easily stimulate the economy to be able to ship to all fifty states," says Steve Hunt, owner Ocoee Winery.

Hunt says he believes allowing TN Wineries to ship outside the state would increase his sales by about 25 percent.  "I would have to hire at least one more person to do the shipping and maybe one more to do the Internet sales," he says.

Nashville (AP):

The state Senate has begun taking action on a series of proposals to reshape the way wine is sold in Tennessee.

The Senate State and Local Government Committee on Tuesday unanimously advanced a measure that would allow Tennesseans to buy up to five cases from out-of-state wineries, and to transport it back across state lines.

Current law bars bringing any alcohol into the state.

Sen. Doug Overbey, a Maryville Republican and the bill's main sponsor, says the law change would address concerns about Tennessee's "Grape and Wine Law."

A panel of federal judges on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals last year found existing special rules for wineries in Tennessee to be unfair to competitors outside the state.