Politech mailing list archives
FC: Wine felons unite! -- ordering online may be a crime
From: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
Date: Fri, 01 Oct 1999 09:36:01 -0600
[Last month in Australia I picked up a few bottles of very nice Shiraz that you just can't get in the states. But I guess ordering these online might make me a felon. Idiots. --Declan] ******** From: "Donald Boudreaux" <dboudreaux () fee org> To: [declan] Subject: Wine Felons Unite! Date: Fri, 1 Oct 1999 10:17:50 -0400 : : : : : Thank heavens for the state! Don http://www.slate.com/winesworld/99-09-30/winesworld.asp The Crime of Wine Here's one industry the Internet won't revolutionize overnight. By Fareed Zakaria Posted Thursday, Sept. 30, 1999, at 4:30 p.m. PT As Internet companies spin into the financial stratosphere, Wall Street and the business press speak with awe of the revolutionary implications of the Web. Issue after issue of Forbes, Fortune, and Business Week detail in awe-struck tones the hundreds of millions (sometimes even billions) raised by Net companies. A new staple is the interview with the Internet expert (call him the I-guru). The editors will ask meekly, "Dr. Chopra, what industries do you think will be affected by the Internet?" To which the I-guru sighs, pauses, and explains, "The real question, Charlie, is what industries will not be affected. Frankly, I can't think of a single one." Well, I can--wine. The booze business might well end up being one of the few areas of American life undisturbed by the great Internet revolution. The buying and selling of wine across state borders is still illegal in 28 states, including New York, where I live. It's a pity because the wine business is perfectly suited to e-commerce. No store could possibly stock even 10 percent of the 10,000-odd wines produced by America's 1,800 wineries, not to mention the vineyards of France, Italy, and Australia. It would be a godsend if wine buyers could do a Web search for bottles of, say, Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, a hard-to-find $16 world-class white wine from New Zealand. In my mind's eye, I see myself using a search engine similar to the Advanced Book Exchange, which allows readers to track down secondhand books at hundreds of shops across North America. I can just see myself clicking the mouse to comparison shop and then score a bottle from a San Francisco store, four from a Texas shop, and 12 from a New York outlet. I'd settle for being able to buy wine from mainstream Internet merchants such as 1-800-WINE-SHOP or Wine.com (which used to be Virtual Vineyards). Alas, only 12 states--most of them in the West--have completely legalized such acts of capitalism between consenting adults. The laws regulating direct wine sales were rarely enforced until recently, but a new zeal is in the air. Buying a single bottle of wine from out-of-state is a third-degree felony in Kentucky, Georgia, and Florida and is punishable with fines of up to $2,000 and jail time. And Orrin Hatch, senior senator from the parched state of Utah, has introduced a bill that would allow federal courts to prosecute offenders. Indeed, Hatch was moved to federalize this crime precisely because new technologies like the Internet make it easier to buy wine nationally (horrors!). Rep. Joe Scarborough, R-Fla., introduced a similar bill in the House--which passed by a hefty margin. [...] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- the moderated mailing list of politics and technology To subscribe: send a message to majordomo () vorlon mit edu with this text: subscribe politech More information is at http://www.well.com/~declan/politech/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------
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- FC: Wine felons unite! -- ordering online may be a crime Declan McCullagh (Oct 01)