| Dear
Wine Trail Customer,
As you may know, last May the
United States Supreme Court issued a decision with potentially wide-ranging
impact on the Pennsylvania limited wine industry. It declared unconstitutional
the New York state statute which allowed its farm wineries to ship
directly to consumers in-state while prohibiting out of state wineries
from doing the same (just as in Pennsylvania). The court said a
state must treat out of state wineries the same way it treats in
state wineries. Since PA did not want to allow out of state wineries
to ship to PA consumers, they decided to ‘level the playing
field’ by stopping in state PA wineries from shipping.
Most recently the Pennsylvania
Liquor Control Board sent out an advisory to Pennsylvania wineries
which restricts a Pennsylvania winery’s ability to ship directly
to a consumer. This is a privilege that we have enjoyed for many
years past. For some years it has been the policy of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania to encourage the growing of wine grapes and opening
of wineries. Based on existing laws our wineries made commitments
and put ourselves at risk financially. To the extent the law changes
and we lose the opportunity to do business as we presently have
been encouraged and accustomed; our ability to meet our obligations
and continue in business will be diminished if not destroyed.
If you enjoy visiting Pennsylvania
wineries and consuming Pennsylvania wines we are asking for your
support. Losing the ability to ship within the state of Pennsylvania
is one the many opportunities that we stand to have taken away from
us.
WE
NEED YOUR HELP AND YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Please contact your elected Pennsylvania
representatives and let them know that you value and support the
Pennsylvania wineries and you are in favor of legislation that will
allow Pennsylvania wineries to stay in business and prosper.
Click
here for a listing of PA representatives
Type your zip code in the upper right hand corner to find your contact.
Click
here for a sample letter you can send to them.
Your voice makes a difference
and we appreciate your support. If you have any questions, please
contact us at info@lvwinetrail.com.
Sincerely,
Lehigh Valley Wine Trail Members
|
