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Two legislative proposals would expand the selection of wines that can be shipped directly to Pennsylvanians' doorsteps, and both are awaiting action by the state House. The measures are popular, even with some in-state wineries that already have the ability to ship direct.
Both of the plans would allow out-of-state wineries the authority to ship bottles directly to Pennsylvania customers. The difference is that the House's plan does not put limitations on how much wine can be shipped direct, but the Senate's does.
Carl Helrich, who owns Allegro Winery in York County, said whether or not out-of-state wineries will be able to keep their prices low when shipping to customers depends on the volume they're moving.
"You start having to pay any interest in tax, on top of the excise tax, on top of your shipping and everything else," Helrich said, "at a certain point, you have to pass a lot of that onto the customer, and they're really the ones who are going to drag their feet as to whether or not they want to, you know, eat all those charges or not."
House GOP leaders have been pushing for privatizing the state's liquor store system. Representative Curt Sonney (R-Erie), the sponsor of the House version, said if the legislature is not able to pass full privatization, it should at least pass a direct shipping proposal.
"If privatization fails, then we can finally move forward with at least getting direct shipment of wine," Sonney said. "If privatization is successful, then obviously, direct shipment's going to be a part of that anyway."
Sonney says he hopes privatization is accomplished by the end of budget negotiations this year.