That Sweet, Sweet California Hooch Is On Its Way

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s functional repeal of the 21st Amendment, Governor Pataki signed into law a bill to allow out-of-state wineries to ship wine directly to New York consumers (hereafter referred to as “connoisseurs and sippers”):

Gov. Pataki signed a new law yesterday that relaxes restrictions on wine shipments, prompting New York’s connoisseurs and sippers to raise their glasses in approval.

Since Prohibition, the state had barred wine shipments from out of state to private citizens in New York. That ban is toast as of Aug. 12, when a new law goes into effect that allows New Yorkers to receive up to 36 cases of wine – or 432 bottles – per year from wineries in or outside New York.