By Staff
LANSING - Governor Jennifer M. Granholm Thursday signed legislation that will allow Michigan and out-of-state wineries to ship their products directly to customers in limited amounts.
In May, the United States Supreme Court declared unconstitutional Michigan and New York state laws regulating the sale of wine. In both cases, in-state wineries were allowed to ship directly to consumers, retailers, and restaurants while out-of-state wineries were not. The Court ruled that states must treat wine producers equally.
The legislation will allow licensed wineries to ship up to 1,500 nine-liter cases, or 13,500 liters total, directly to customers each year. The bills also put regulations in place to ensure that minors cannot get access to wine through direct shipment and allow the Liquor Control Commission to charge an annual license fee of up to $100 to help fund the regulation of direct shipping vendors.
Michigan's grape and wine industry contributes more than $75 million each year to the state's economy, according to a study conducted by Michigan State University in 2000.
With 42 wineries and more than 1,300 acres of land now dedicated to growing wine grapes, Michigan ranks 9th nationally in production.
By 2020, it is estimated, Michigan will have more than 10,000 acres in wine grape production.