Online wine for Mom

KILKENNY -- The only way I can send Irish Mist to Mom in Pennsylvania is through a murky process involving the postal service. Like other Americans, she cannot shop online for Christmas and buy her favourite spirits online to enjoy during the festive season.. I doubt this will change, even with the U.S. Supreme Court hearing arguments next month in a lawsuit that will, if successful, permit American adults to freely buy beer and wine over the Internet.

As Declan McCullagh observes, "It's slightly bizarre to think that it takes the nation's highest court to guarantee online shoppers the right to order a case of fine Merlot or Pinot Noir from California. You can thank a crowd of pusillanimous state legislators for that.

I lived in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and until I was a teenager, I thought everyone had to buy their liquor from a librarian. That's what the bow-tie brigade in the State Stores looked like to me. It's much the same in New York, Florida, Maryland, and Michigan where thoise states have severe restrictions on out-of-state shipments of alcohol.

Blame the beer and wine distributors because they sip more than 20% profit in selling each bottle. You don't get those margins with an online shop.

Not being able to buy her Irish Mist or Bailey's Irish Cream online for delivery in the U.S. means mom pays an additional tax on the bottles in Pennsylvania. The excess profit is no better than a VAT charge.

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Declan McCullagh -- "Prohibition redux?"
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