Sweet California Hooch Must Wait

After the Supreme Court struck down state laws restricting direct delivery of out-of-state wine, many expected sweet California hooch to arrive any day to their door, except it’s not yet happening:

“The politicians got great P.R. for passing the law and for opening up the market, but when it comes to implementing it, they can’t pull it off,” said Paul Winkeller, a frustrated oenophile in Slingerlands, N.Y., who on Thanksgiving tried to join a monthly wine mail-order club offered by Ridge Vineyards of Northern California.

He received the following reply to his e-mail message:

“We have received our direct shipper’s license to ship to New York; however, neither U.P.S. nor FedEx have been approved as common carriers,” wrote Tracy Murray, a customer service supervisor at the vineyard. “They are having a heck of a time battling out the requirements with the N.Y. State Liquor Authority, and we are daily waiting for the green light.”

Like Mr. Winkeller, Gov. George E. Pataki appeared to believe that consumers were already benefiting from the wine delivery law, given what he said in a statement late last month after awarding a new post to the departing commissioner of the State Liquor Authority, Edward F. Kelly.

“Recently, Ed worked to successfully implement one of the most sweeping changes in our Alcohol Beverage Control laws in decades,” Mr. Pataki said, citing interstate shipments as the most notable achievement of Mr. Kelly’s tenure.

The problem appears to be with a requirement that shipping companies have the recipient fill out a complicated form:

The Wine Institute sent The New York Times what it said was a copy of the paper form that New York was seeking to have shippers use when making wine deliveries.

The form requires the delivery person to fill out by hand the name and address of the shipping company, a license number of the shipping company and a number assigned for the particular delivery, as well as the name of the winery, a shipping number for the winery, the winery’s license number and the winery’s address. Then the deliverer must fill out the name and address of the person receiving the shipment as well as information describing the kind of identification presented, and the time and date of delivery. The signature of the recipient is also required.

Ms. [Kimberly] Morella, of the [State] Liquor Authority, would not comment on the form, other than to say, “we have to adhere to the law.”

But the law that went into effect in July does not appear to require such paper documentation. It does “require a recipient to sign an electronic or paper form or other acknowledgment of receipt, as approved by the authority,” as well as present identification establishing that he or she is 21 or older.

Which is to say, sweet California hooch must wait.