Grand Junction – Rob Crowell of Two Rivers Winery was busy Saturday pouring merlots and rieslings for a steady stream of sippers. It wasn’t obvious, but in one way, Crowell’s job got a little easier on this day.
The shipping of wine from Colorado’s 64 wineries entered a new phase Saturday when House Bill 1120 went into effect. The new law allows wineries in Colorado and around the country to ship wine to Colorado consumers for home use.
Previously, consumers could not order Colorado wine over the phone or the Internet unless they had visited a winery’s tasting rooms.
Crowell said that meant flipping through voluminous guest-register books for names that on just one Saturday at his place included visitors from California, Arizona, Missouri and across Colorado. He said the winery ships out at least a case of wine each day.
The new law, sponsored by Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction, requires wineries to obtain a $50 permit for the privilege of shipping wine.
“It’s a good law. It’s well worth the 50 bucks,” said Parker Carlson of Carlson Vineyards, another Grand Valley winery that has struggled with wine shipping in a burgeoning Colorado industry that last year contributed $41.7 million to Colorado’s economy, according to a Colorado State University study.
The new law also puts Colorado in compliance with a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision that barred states from treating alcoholic beverages from other states differently from those produced in-state.
That decision said that states have the power to regulate alcohol sales within their borders but, in doing so, cannot play favorites with in-state versus out-state producers.
Carlson said Colorado wineries will still have the headache of dealing with a snarl of differing state-permitting requirements that could lead to having to buy sometimes costly permits from many states.
“It’s still a nightmare. We might have more paperwork than before,” Carlson said.
Doug Caskey, director of the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board, recently wrote an opinion piece that said the court ruling has complicated the way the wine industry has operated for decades and that it might pit wholesalers, small retailers and wineries against one another.
On Saturday, tasters at Grand Valley wineries said they weren’t thinking about legislation as much as they were savoring each cabernet and pinot gris.
Larry and Bernice Korzdorfer of Maui, Hawaii, swirled and sipped their way through a line of wines at Two Rivers before handing over a credit card and address so the winery could ship several bottles of port to a relative.
They could have done that before HB 1120 went into effect because they were visiting the winery. But they said they were happy for any change that makes wine enjoyment simpler for all.
“I am glad for the change in the law,” Bernice Korzdorfer said. “With flexibility to ship, you can make the customers happy.”
Staff writer Nancy Lofholm can be reached at 970-256-1957 or nlofholm@denverpost.com.
