Today the direct shipping legislation was endorsed by the Baltimore Sun ("Special Delivery," Feb. 20, 2008).

Yesterday we received coverage in:

The Washington Post ("Bill Allows Shipment of Wine To, From State," p. B6) and
The Baltimore Sun ("Wine Shipping Bill Gets House Hearing").

We also got covered by ABC-2 (WMAR) in Baltimore and the DCist blog.

Yesterday I was also on WBAL's Shari Elliker Show for over a half-an-hour to discuss the direct shipping legislation and why grocery stores in Maryland can't sell beer and wine.

A wine direct shipping bill is going to be introduced this week in the Maryland General Assembly. Now we need Marylanders to take action!

Please take a few minutes to contact your state Senator and Delegates. Ask them to co-sponsor Sen. Jamie Raskin's and Del. Tom Hucker's wine direct shipping bill. This legislation will allow Marylanders to receive fine wines direct-mailed from Maryland wineries, out-of-state wineries, and retailers like wine.com. Find out who your elected officials are and how to contact them here.

Wine Legislation
Beer Legislation
Grocery Store Sales
Sunday Sales
Only in Maryland....
Upcoming Events
Join the Fight

July 1 is the day that many of Maryland's recently passed beer and wine laws take effect, so we thought we better tell you what you have to look forward to. Unfortunately, a number of good bills didn't get passed this year, so we'll go ahead and give you the bad news about those bills too. Here goes....

Wine at Farmers' Markets Rejected; MD Wine Hits Montgomery; No Direct Shipping in '07

Maryland Wine Sales at Farmers' Markets Rejected

The liquor store lobby and distributors came out in full force this year to kill HB 522, which would have helped Maryland wineries immensely. The bill would have allowed Maryland wineries to have 18 winery special event permits in a year (currently only 12 are allowed), and to use 5 of those permits in the same county (currently only 3 can be used in the same county). The bill would have also increased the number of bottles that could be sold to a consumer at one of these events to 12, up
from four. Most interestingly, the bill would have allowed Maryland wineries to participate in an unlimited number of farmers' markets, where samples could be provided and bottles sold, but wine by the glass would not have been permitted. The bill received an unfavorable vote in committee and it is unclear if a similar bill will be introduced next year.

Maryland Wineries to Self-Distribute in Montgomery County

Montgomery County has a horrible reputation among wine drinkers because quality wines are typically
much more expensive in restaurants because the county-owned distributor must special order and greatly mark up the price of wines it doesn't typically carry. That problem will be a thing of the past for Maryland wines now that Maryland wineries will be allowed to self-distribute their own wines to Montgomery County restaurants and retailers. HB 614 essentially applies to Montgomery County the law that was passed in 2006 allowing Maryland wineries to self-distribute their own wines throughout the rest of the state. The bill, considered an emergency measure, went into effect upon Gov. O'Malley's signing on April 10.

No Direct Shipping Bills Introduced in 2007

The worst news for 2007 was that no direct shipping bill was introduced. Unfortunately the general consensus was that the General Assembly had too many new members for the passage of the bill to be likely. With a little education this summer and fall, we think a direct shipping bill in 2008 could be a winner. We'll keep you posted.

Beer Legislation

Beer Tastings for Howard Co.; More Tastings in Baltimore Co.

Beer Tastings Legalized in Howard County

Beer lovers in Howard County get your mugs frosted up: beer tastings will be legal in your county beginning July 1. The General Assembly unanimously approved HB 1089, which was sponsored by the Howard County delegation. Previously only wine tastings were allowed in liquor stores in the county. The bill simply changed the license to a Beer and Wine Tasting License, which costs retailers $100 per year. You will be limited to drinking no more than 3 ounces per
brand and a total of 8 ounces for all brands at a tasting.

Beer, Wine (and Liquor) Tastings Greatly Expanded in Baltimore County

Thanks to the work of Sen. Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore County residents will now be able to sample more beer and wine before purchasing, and for the first time will be able to experience liquor tastings at liquor stores. SB 507 establishes a 12-day, 26-day, and 52-day tasting license for holders of Class A (on
premise) licenses in Baltimore County. The legislation takes effect July 1.

Grocery Store Sales

No Major Bills in 2007; County Point-People Needed

No County or State Grocery Store Bills Introduced in 2007

Another big disappointment this legislative session was that no bills were introduced to allow grocery
store sales of beer and wine, either countywide or statewide. One bill, HB 939, would have allowed a grocery store in the new waterfront entertainment complex on the Potomac in Prince George's County to obtain a beer, wine, and liquor license. Unfortunately the bill did not pass.

Want Grocery Store Sales of Beer and Wine in Your County? We Can Help

Are you interested in spearheading an effort to get a bill introduced in 2008 to allow grocery store sales of beer and wine in your county? Drop Scott an email at scott-at-betterbeerandwinelaws.org and he'll help you out.

Sunday Sales

Carroll County Restaurants Can Start Serving at 11am on Sundays

Brunch lovers in Carroll County have something to celebrate: they can now have their mimosas and bloody marys beginning at 11am on Sundays. The Carroll County senatorial delegation sponsored the legislation (HB 1228), which applies to alcohol sales in restaurants and hotels with a Class B license. The law goes into effect on July 1.

Only in Maryland....

Tables and Chairs for Frederick Cellars; Alcohol Licenses for Holy Family and Damascus Fire Depts

Every year a slew of alcohol laws are passed in Maryland that border on the absurd or are so local in nature one has to ask oneself, "Why is it necessary for this law to be considered by the full state legislature?" Here is a sampling of such laws from the 2007 legislative session.

Frederick Cellars Gets Legislature's Permission to Put Tables and Chairs in Winery

Due to an arcane conflict between state and county law, Frederick Cellars had to go to the legislature this year to get permission to have tables and chairs in the winery for tour patrons. According to the bill summary, HB 320 "Allows in Frederick County a holder of a limited winery license to provide tables and chairs on the premises of the licensed facility for the sale, by the glass, of wine and pomace brandy made at the facility to a person who participates in a guided tour of the facility." Only in Maryland.

Holy Family Catholic Community Approved to Sell Alcohol in Frederick

Another bill out of Frederick County was HB 195, which "authorizes Holy Family Catholic Community in Frederick County to obtain a special license for the sale of alcoholic beverages; specifies that the net proceeds from the sale of alcoholic beverages be used to fund building construction or for charitable purposes." We don't have a problem with the Catholic Community getting an alcohol license, but why do legislators from across the state have to spend their time on legislation of such local interest?

Damascus No Longer Dry! Fire Departments to Make Town Wet
It appears that residents of Damascus will finally have a place to get a drink -- the volunteer fire departments. Damascus used to be a dry town in Montgomery County where "a license for the sale of alcoholic beverages ... may not be issued for the sale of alcoholic beverages." (Article 2B, Sec. 8-216) That was before
the passage of HB 618, which authorizes the Montgomery County Board of License Commissioners to issue a special 7-day Class C beer, wine and liquor license to any volunteer fire department in Demascus. Once again, it's not clear why every legislator in the state needs to vote on such things, but such is the state of alcohol regulation in the Free State. Flaming Dr. Peppers at the next volunteer fire department fundraiser in Damascus anyone? Law goes into effect July 1.

Upcoming Events

A full listing of wine festivals and winery events is provided by the Maryland Wineries Association.

Join the Fight

We Need You for Better Beer and Wine Laws

We're a low-budget, volunteer, grassroots kinda organization, but we understand that everyone's gotta make a buck. Then again, why don't we both make a little money!

Help organize a fundraiser or establish business relationships for Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws and you can take home 25% of the proceeds.

The more people and donations you bring in for us, the more money you make too.

MBBWL also needs the help of good ol' fashioned, unpaid volunteers. Here's where we could use some
extra hands:

County chapter director: Want to change your county's beer and wine laws? Want to take the lead? Let us know.

Data entry: we collect contact info from hundreds of people at wine and beer festivals and we need to get them into our database.

Tabling and community outreach: Are you a people person? Do you love meeting and talking to new people and pontificating on the evils of the 3-tier system? Then you would love working at our booth at beer and wine festivals.

Phone tree organizer: Are you a phone person? An organizer? When the legislature starts up next year, we need people like you to make the phone lines light up at the legislature and set up meetings with elected officials.

Writers and researchers: We need help developing our lobbying packets and public education materials. If
you like to write and do legal research, let us know.

Public speakers: We want the legislature to hear the consumer's voice instead of just hearing from the alcohol industry and wealthy special interests. Let us know if you can take a few hours out of your busy day to give your elected officials a piece of your mind.

If you or your friends are college students and over 21, we're happy to take you on as an intern. You can work out of your house, but it would help if you had a car so we can send you down to Annapolis.

If you're interested in any of these opportunities, contact Scott Ehlers at scott_at_betterbeerandwinelaws.org. Please put "volunteer" in the subject line.

Re: Positions and Comments on Alcoholic Beverage Bills Before the Committee on March 13, 2007

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Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws (MBBWL), incorporated in Hyattsville, Maryland, advocates for beer and wine laws that: 1) benefit consumers; 2) promote competition; 3) protect the environment; and 4) support Maryland's brewers and wineries.

Our top priorities are allowing consumers to buy beer and wine in grocery stores, and allowing consumers to receive wine directly from wineries, retailers, and through online retailers like wine.com.

Approximately 900 Marylanders have joined our mailing list because they want to modernize our state’s alcohol laws and they want the legislature to consider consumer interests when crafting our state’s alcohol policies.

Summary
We are taking the following positions and making the following comments about the alcoholic beverage bills before you today:

SB 425 — Wineries – Special Events Permits – Farmers’ Markets
Position: Strongly Support

SB 473 — Alcoholic Beverages – Class A Light Wine Licenses – Residency Requirement
Position: Strongly Support

SB 507 — Baltimore County – Alcoholic Beverages – Wine Tasting
Position: Strongly Support

SB 958 — Frederick County – Alcoholic Beverages – Tables and Chairs at Wineries
Position: Strongly Support, with Amendments

SB 998 — Baltimore County – Alcoholic Beverages – Multiple License Holdings
Position: Strongly Support

Senate Companion to HB 614 — Montgomery County - Alcoholic Beverages - Direct
Sales by Holders of Class 6 Limited Wine Wholesaler's Licenses or Nonresident Winery Permits MC 703-07
Position: Strongly Support

SB 425 — Wineries – Special Events Permits – Farmers’ Markets
Position: Strongly Support

SB 425 is good for Maryland wine consumers, Maryland wineries, and Maryland’s farmers’ markets. By allowing Maryland wineries to participate in more winery special events, the General Assembly is providing this vital industry with more opportunities to sell a quality product that is made right here in Maryland. By allowing Maryland consumers to purchase 12 bottles of wine rather than four from a winery, you are providing greater consumer freedom as well as greater sales opportunities for Maryland wineries. And by allowing wineries to sell their product at farmers’ markets, you are providing many more opportunities for Maryland wineries to expose consumers to their products and increase their sales. Ultimately, this bill promotes Maryland jobs, Maryland farms, and Maryland’s economy. Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws strongly supports SB 425.

SB 473 — Alcoholic Beverages – Class A Light Wine Licenses – Residency Requirement
Position: Strongly Support

This legislation would essentially allow Maryland winery owners who live in one county but whose winery exists in another county to be able to sell wine on the premises of the winery without moving their residence to the same county where the winery is located (assuming they have been a Maryland resident for two or more years). It seems fairly obvious that most individuals live in urban areas and urban areas are not exactly inviting of wineries and vineyards. It makes little sense to require an individual to sell his/her house, uproot his/her family, and move to the country because they want to own and operate a winery.

Ultimately, this legislative fix will result in more Maryland wine being sold, more open space in Maryland being saved, and more access to Maryland wines by consumers who visit Maryland wineries and support our state’s economy. This is a goal that the General Assembly should always support, which is why we urge you to support SB 473.

SB 507 — Baltimore County – Alcoholic Beverages – Wine Tasting
Position: Strongly Support

This legislation would get rid of the burdensome restriction on the number of beer and wine tastings that a retailer may host in a given year in Baltimore County. Under existing law, a retailer could host at most one tasting per month. This legislation would not put a limit on the number of tastings, assuming the retailer has the necessary Class BWT license and pays the fee. This legislation will expose Baltimore County consumers to new and different beers and wines, potentially more Maryland beers and wines. This legislation is good for consumers in Baltimore County, it is good for Baltimore County retailers, and it is potentially good for Maryland wineries and brewers too.

SB 958 — Frederick County – Alcoholic Beverages – Tables and Chairs at Wineries
Position: Strongly Support, with Amendments

This legislation would allow wineries in Frederick County to “provide tables and chairs” and sell wine by the glass “to a person who participates in a guided tour of the facility.” Under existing law (Art. 2B, Sec. 2-204(2)(v), a winery may serve no more than 6 ounces of wine at no charge to persons who have toured the facility.

While we support this legislation in concept, we feel that it does not go far enough in supporting the interests of consumers or Maryland wineries. Consumers should not be forced to endure a guided tour of the winery to buy wine by the glass. If you have ever visited wineries in other states (this author went on a wine tour in Oregon), you know that you can visit the winery and buy wine by the glass, and you don’t have to take a guided tour of the facility. Tour operators drive consumers from winery to winery where you taste and purchase wine – either to take with you or drink on the spot. You can tour the winery if you like, but it isn’t mandatory. By requiring tours to purchase wine by the glass, you are simply setting up a bureaucratic hurdle for wineries to jump through, rather than simply allowing wineries to sell wine, made at the facility, by the glass.

We suggest you make the following amendment to the bill:

Delete the words “to a person who participates in a guided tour of the facility” on lines 7-8 of page 2.

SB 998 — Baltimore County – Alcoholic Beverages – Multiple License Holdings
Position: Strongly Support

This legislation would allow partnerships, corporations, and LLCs to hold an interest in up to six Class B beer, wine, and liquor licenses in Baltimore County, or up to seven licenses in the Liberty Road Commercial Revitalization District. We applaud all attempts by the General Assembly to bring more quality hotels, bars and restaurants to Baltimore County and the rest of the state. By removing the unduly burdensome requirement that only individuals may possess alcohol licenses and allowing partnerships, corporations, and LLCs to own licenses, you are making it much more likely that more quality bars and restaurants are available to consumers. By allowing these entities to possess more than one license, you are reducing burdensome regulations, increasing the likelihood that bars and restaurants will be opened, and generally increasing economic development opportunities in the state. This legislation is being supported by the Baltimore County Administration and should be supported by this Committee as well.

Senate Companion to HB 614 — Montgomery County - Alcoholic Beverages - Direct
Sales by Holders of Class 6 Limited Wine Wholesaler's Licenses or Nonresident Winery Permits MC 703-07
Position: Strongly Support

This legislation represents little more than “clean-up” legislation after last year’s passage of HB 1122, which allows small Maryland wineries and small out-of-state wineries to self-distribute their own wine. This bill would do nothing more than allow these same wineries to self-distribute their own wine in Montgomery County. This bill will result in more Maryland wines being sold in Montgomery County at a better price than if it were to pass through the Department of Liquor Control, thus making the bill good for Montgomery County consumers, good for Maryland wineries, and good for the Maryland economy. The Senate companion bill to HB 614 is supported by the Montgomery County delegation and should be supported by this committee as well.

What is the source of all their fears? The Montgomery County Department of Liquor Control (DLC), which distributes every drop of alcohol consumed in the county. Montgomery is the only jurisdiction in the United States that controls the distribution of the big three—beer, wine, and liquor—and it’s been handling this puritanical duty since late 1933, when the county decided the best way to limit the supply of fire water to its residents was to put the government in charge. If the county served more as a dam back in the post-Prohibition era, stemming the flow of alcohol within its borders, the DLC acts more as an irrigation system these days. In fiscal 2006 alone, the DLC sold more than $191 million in beer, wine, and liquor to the 900-plus licensees in the county. ....

Governments, of course, have always regulated products and industries that officials deem dangerous to the public’s health, safety, or morals. There are age restrictions on smoking and outright embargoes on puffing those cancer sticks in public places, including bans in the District and Montgomery County. There are waiting periods and background checks on the purchase of guns. Now there’s even a ban on trans fats in New York City.

But if governments tend to legislate lifestyle choices, which in turn affects businesses, the DLC goes one step further: It has wedged itself between alcohol wholesalers and retailers who, frankly, would prefer to serve their markets without the presence of a slow-footed government bureaucracy. They have no delusions, however, that the county will sacrifice its multimillion-dollar revenue stream to get out of the alcohol business, so all sides have learned how to live with one another. In fact, businesses readily give the county credit for doing a decent job in many areas, except one: the sale and distribution of special-order wines. ....

Full article here.

Re: Positions and Comments on Alcoholic Beverage Bills Before the Committee on February 1, 2007

---------------------------

Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws (MBBWL), incorporated in Hyattsville, Maryland, advocates for beer and wine laws that: 1) benefit consumers; 2) promote competition; 3) protect the environment; and 4) support Maryland's brewers and wineries.

MBBWL represents all Marylanders — consumers, retailers, producers, distributors, and just regular folks — who share our values.

Our top priorities are allowing consumers to buy beer and wine in grocery stores, and to order wine through the mail from Maryland wineries, Maryland retailers, and through online retailers like wine.com.

Summary
We are taking the following positions, and making the following comments, about the alcoholic beverage bills before you today:

PG 304-07 — Class B-DD (Development District) License
Position: Support, with amendments

PG 305-07 — Licenses – Exercise of Off-Sale Privileges
Position: Neutral

PG 307-07 — Unlawful Drinking and Open Containers
Position: Oppose

PG 312-07 — Licenses – Waterfront Entertainment Complex
Position: Support, with amendments

PG 313-07 — Licenses – Advisory Commission to Study Luxury Type Restaurants
Position: Support, with amendments

PG 314-07 — Licenses – Woodmore Towne Center at Glenarden and the Greenbelt Station Town Center
Position: Support, with amendments

PG 318-07 — License Transfers – Gas Stations
Position: Neutral

PG 304-07 — Class B-DD (Development District) License
Position: Support, with amendments

Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws applauds all attempts by the Prince George’s County delegation to expand the availability of quality restaurants in the county. While this bill makes it more likely that consumers near the Capital Plaza commercial area will soon have better restaurants, it does not offer such opportunities for the tens of thousands of Prince George’s county residents that do not live near Capital Plaza or the other districts designated in section 9-217(f)(5).

In our view, all of Prince George’s county should be considered a development district. We propose that Class B-DD licenses be available throughout the county. This could easily be accomplished by deleting lines 127 through 148 and inserting the words “Prince George’s County” after the word “within” on line 126 of page 6 of the bill.

In lieu of promoting more restaurants throughout Prince George’s county, we would ask that you designate more areas in Hyattsville and College Park as being eligible for Class B-DD licenses as these areas are certainly “underserved by restaurants.”

PG 305-07 — Licenses – Exercise of Off-Sale Privileges
Position: Neutral

Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws has no position on this bill.

PG 307-07 — Unlawful Drinking and Open Containers
Position: Oppose

This legislation would increase penalties for the public consumption of alcohol by permitting the incarceration of someone for up to 30 days. This law would apply only to Prince George’s County residents, so county residents would be treated more harshly and unfairly than citizens in other counties in Maryland. Not only does this raise Constitutional “equal protection” issues, but it is also an excessive punishment that is unjust. We do not need to be wasting precious county public safety resources incarcerating more of our citizens. We should not be further burdening our over-worked public defenders by increasing their caseloads. We should not be forcing more people out of work by putting them in jail. Please oppose this bill.

PG 312-07 — Licenses – Waterfront Entertainment Complex
Position: Strongly support, with amendments

Once again, Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws supports attempts by the Prince George’s County delegation to expand the availability of quality restaurants and bars in the county. We especially approve of section 9-102 (a-2), which will allow consumers to purchase beer and wine at a supermarket or grocery store within a Waterfront Entertainment Retail Complex.

However, we do not particularly approve of reducing burdensome regulations in one part of the county and giving special privileges to certain special interests while the rest of the county has to “play by the old rules.” If it is good for development along the waterfront to allow grocery stores to sell beer and wine, then it should be — and it is — good for economic development to allow such sales throughout the county. If it is good to reduce alcohol licensing regulations on hotels along the waterfront as this bill proposes, then it is good to do the same thing for hotels throughout the county.

So, while we support many of the goals of this bill, we think businesses throughout the county should receive similar benefits, not only businesses in the Waterfront Entertainment District.

PG 313-07 — Licenses – Advisory Commission to Study Luxury Type Restaurants
Position: Support, with amendment

MBBWL supports all attempts to bring quality restaurants and bars to Prince George’s County and the rest of Maryland. We support the formation of this Advisory Commission, though we do feel that the definition of a luxury restaurant should be changed to reflect the fact that many “luxury restaurants” do not seat 100 people or have a minimum capital investment of $800,000, especially in older towns with more compact business space. There are many boutique “luxury” restaurants that do not seat 100 people.

More importantly, the Advisory Commission does not have a member representing the most important constituency: consumers. We ask that you include at least one member of the Advisory Commission to represent consumer interests. Of course, you should feel free to list “a representative from Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws” as a member of the Advisory Commission.

PG 314-07 — Licenses – Woodmore Towne Center at Glenarden and the Greenbelt Station Town Center
Position: Support, with amendments

As we have previously stated, we support all attempts to bring more quality bars and restaurants to Prince George’s County. We applaud the fact that you are allowing partnerships, corporations, and LLCs to hold an interest in one or more Class B-DD licenses within the development district. However, as we have previously argued, if these policy changes are good for development in Woodmore Towne Centre and the Greenbelt Station Town Centre, then they are good for the whole county.

We suggest that you delete lines 88 to 93, and place the words “Prince George’s County” after the word “in:” on line 87 of page 4 of the bill to make all of Prince George’s County a development district.

In the event that you keep only Woodmore Towne Centre as a development district, we would also strongly suggest that you make an exception for a grocery store to have a retail beer and wine license at that location since Wegmans will be in that development complex and they should be able to provide their customers with quality beers and wines.

PG 318-07 — License Transfers – Gas Stations
Position: Neutral

We take no position on this bill.

2006 Election Wrap-Up
Wine News
Beer News
Great Gift Idea
Join the Fight
Upcoming Events

Happy Holidays from Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws! In our final issue of 2006 we discuss Peter Franchot's victory in the Comptroller's race and why that's good for us; Maryland wineries' banner year in 2006; and how you can help Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws bring you fine wine in the mail in 2007.

Peter Franchot Wins Comptroller Race

Peter Franchot, endorsed by Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws, garnered over a million votes in the Comptroller’s race in November. The Comptroller oversees the enforcement of Maryland’s alcohol laws, and has great sway over alcohol-related legislation. Del. Franchot understands that the "3-tier system" of regulating alcohol is out-dated and he has expressed interest in allowing consumers to get wine shipped direct to them through the mail.

Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws looks forward to working with Del. Franchot in modernizing the state’s alcohol laws in the years to come.

Wine Sales in Grocery Stores Rejected by Mass. Voters

Fear-mongering advertising scared Massachusetts voters into rejecting a ballot initiative in November that would have allowed wine sales in grocery stores. According to Christopher Flynn, president of the Massachusetts Food Association, which represents the state's supermarket chains, the "negative scare campaign" of the liquor sellers succeeded in derailing the question. "The consumer's the loser," Flynn said, adding that his members are not giving up the fight. "This is something our consumers want. We're going to have to regroup and see where we go from here."

The Boston Globe noted that the opposition campaign raised $4.6 million from the package stores, big liquor wholesalers and beer distributors.

Wine News
MD Wine Sales Go Big in '06; New Winery Project in SoMD

Maryland Wine Sales Up 18%

The Comptroller of Maryland's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Annual Report for FY06 reports an 18.6% growth in Maryland wine sales over FY05.

"This shows the amazing strength of the Maryland wine industry and its benefits to the rural economy," said Carol Wilson, president of the Maryland Wineries Association and proprietor of Elk Run Vineyards in Mt. Airy. "We're seeing more customers at our wineries and festivals, and that is helping to drive sales in retail stores."

"Approximately 968,333 bottles were sold in FY06 at an average price of $11, totaling over $10.5 million in sales," said Kevin Atticks, executive director of the Maryland Wineries Association.

The Maryland Comptroller’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Annual Report for FY 2006 is online here.

Southern Maryland Starts Up Wine and Vineyard Project

Southern Maryland could become the East Coast Napa Valley if local leaders have their way. The Port of Leonardtown Project is a collaboration between local and state government, farmers, and businessmen seeking to create a new tourist destination and economic engine out of an old State Highway Administration maintenance facility. According to Southern Maryland Online, on that old site “will sit a park that contains a kayak launch, a picnic area, a winery, and a grape vineyard demonstration area. Officials are currently negotiating with the recently formed Southern Maryland Wine Growers Cooperative to supply the grapes and operate the winery. The State is working to help yesterday’s tobacco farmers become tomorrow’s grape growers.”

More on the project can be found here and here.

Beer News

Associated Press Gives Much Love to New Batch of Baltimore Breweries

The Associated Press recently ran a great article on the revival of brewing in Baltimore, featuring Hugh Sisson from Clipper City Brewing Company and Bob Wilson, president of Fordham Brewing Company. The article also discusses the city’s rich brewing tradition by mentioning the old greats that used to inhabit the city – National Bohemian, American, Arrow and Gunther breweries.

The story is online here.

Great Gift Idea

Give the Gift of a Cool Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws T-Shirt This Christmas

Looking for a cool gift for friends and family? How about a t-shirt from Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws? 100% cotton and 100% great cause to support. Only $15.00 - to order, visit our website scroll down and hit the “donate” button. On our donation page, just enter the right amount for your t-shirt(s) and note what size you want.

Join the Fight

Make Some Extra Cash Helping Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws

We’re a low-budget, volunteer, grassroots kinda organization, but we understand that everyone’s gotta make a buck. Then again, why don’t we both make a little money!

Help organize a fundraiser or establish business relationships for Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws and you can take home 25% of the proceeds. The more people and donations you bring in for us, the more money you make too.

MBBWL also needs the help of good ol’ fashioned, unpaid volunteers to gear up for the 2007 legislative session. Here’s where we could use some extra hands:

Data entry: we collected contact info from hundreds of people at wine and beer festivals and we need to get them into our database before the legislature starts up.

Tabling and community outreach: Are you a people person? Do you love meeting and talking to new people and pontificating on the evils of the 3-tier system? Then you would love working at our booth at beer and wine festivals.

Phone tree organizer: Are you a phone person? An organizer? When the legislature starts up next year, we need people like you to make the phone lines light up at the legislature and set up meetings with elected officials.

Writers and researchers: We need help developing our lobbying packets and public education materials. If you like to write and do legal research, let us know.

Public speakers: We want the legislature to hear the consumer’s voice next year instead of just hearing from the alcohol industry and wealthy special interests. Let us know if you can take a few hours out of your busy day to give your elected officials a piece of your mind, either through a one-on-one meeting or by testifying at a committee meeting.

If you or your friends are college students and over 21, we’re happy to take you on as an intern. You can work out of your house, but it would help if you had a car so we can send you down to Annapolis.

If you’re interested in any of these opportunities, contact Scott Ehlers at scott_at_betterbeerandwinelaws.org. Please put “volunteer” in the subject line.

Upcoming Events

Beer, Bourbon, Barbeque, and Wine....

March 24, 2007: Beer, Bourbon and Barbeque Festival, Maryland State Fairgrounds, Timonium, MD. Brought to you by the great folks at Moorea Marketing.

Winery Events: A full listing of winery-related events is online at the Maryland Wineries Association website.