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WineEastNews New Jersey Lets In Most Wineries T Production cap bars only 146 U.S. wineries from shipping directly to state's consumers renton, N.J.—After New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed into law the long-sought legislation allowing direct-to-consumer wine shipments from within and outside the state, Steve Gross at California's Wine Institute told Wines & Vines he was disappointed that the new law limited DTC shipments to wineries producing less than 250,000 gallons per year—just under 106,000 cases. How many wineries are actually prohibited from DTC shipping under the new law? Ac- cording to WinesVinesDATA, very few. None of New Jersey's 48 wineries comes close to the production cap: The state's largest, Tomasello Winery Inc., reports production of 65,000 cases per year. Total annual wine production in the state amounts to 227,750 cases. In the entire United States, only 146 of 7,396 bonded and virtual wineries cap, as do nine in Washington. New Jersey neighbor New York state has six wineries too prolific to ship direct. Others are scat- tered about the country. Gallo has its own distribution company in New Jersey, and, although exact data are not available, most of these large producers have second-tier distribution in New Jersey, if they want it. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie opened the door for direct-to-consumer shipping. produce 106,000 cases or more per year. In California, these range from behemoths including 73 million-case E. & J. Gallo Winery and 60 million-case The Wine Group, each with dozens of brands, down to 110,000-case Renwood Winery. Seven wineries in Oregon surpass the production Even much smaller, established wineries have distribution reps in New Jersey. Jason Haas, general manager of 18,000-case Tablas Creek Vineyard in Paso Robles, Calif., commented online that the $938 an- nual license fee would not deter him from applying for DTC shipping in the Garden State. "It's a no-brainer," he wrote. In a subsequent phone interview, he said, "We'll be the first in line" for the permits. —Jane Firstenfeld All Natural Cork Closures Fresh Corks Directly From Portugal 4th Generation Family Cork Producer Free Branding Free Shipping Free is Better Ask about our Progressive Discounts Phone (203) 681-7743 Cell (860) 335-0667 email: reliablecork@gmail.com www.reliablecorksolutions.com 68 Wines & Vines MARCH 2012