The Silver Spring Penguin

ANNAPOLIS — A state bill that would allow vintners to ship wine directly to consumers caught some flack Monday from opponents worried over who was signing for that FedEx package, and who would be collecting sales tax on that deal.

“All of these liquors are easily accessible to underage drinkers. You don’t have to show an ID online,” Del Sonny Minnick (D-Dist 6) said during the House economic-matters committee meeting. “We want the state to be responsible to underage drinkers.”

If passed, the bill would allow local and out-of-state wine dealers to sell and ship bottles directly to Maryland consumers. Currently, consumers who want that special bottle of sumpin’ sumpin’ must buy it from a local retailer, or ask that retailer to order then receive said sumpin’ for the consumer to pick up.

It’s a broke-down system, bill sponsor Del Tom Hucker (D-Dist 20) wrote to the committee. The setup — where the wine producer, wholesaler and retailer must get their liquor licenses aligned before anyone pours a single drop of vino — is “a joke,” the Indian Spring rep said.

Wine aficionado Paul Hoffstein called the bill a win-win, where Maryland vintners can make a little cash shipping bottles to local and out-of-state customers, and dudes like him can have less common bottles delivered to their homes. And don’t sweat the kids trying to score hooch online.

“Shipping costs are between $35 and $50 a case,” Hoffstein testified. “This isn’t a way for teenagers to get liquor. This is a niche bill.”

But Chuck Ferrar, who owns Bay Ridge Wine and Spirits in Annapolis, gave the bill a thumbs down. Online and mail-order sales would make it tough for the state to collect sales tax, a nasty proposition in this fiscal environment, he told the committee.

“They’re gonna give us $90,000 in permit fees, and we’re gonna lose $10 million in taxes,” Ferrar testified.

Whether the bill advances beyond this committee is unknown. A similar bill went down in flames last year.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Kai Hendry.

ANNAPOLIS — Kids know better than to walk into a liquor store and ask for beer, wine or a bottle of scotch (not without convincing ID, anyway). Now, one MoCo state delegate wants to be sure they can’t score another form of hooch at the local 7-Eleven.

On Monday afternoon, Del Bill Bronrott (D-Dist 16) pitched his idea to ban the sale of “alcopops” at stores licensed to sell only beer. Instead, he said frou-frou drinks like Smirnoff Ice, Bacardi Breezer and Mike’s Hard Lemonade should be sold at stores licensed to sell the harder stuff.

“As many as 10 million underage children drink,” Bronrott testified before the House economic-matters committee. Pin some of that booze abuse on the alcopops, which he said were marketed directly at young people and were available in urban convenience stores.

Marlene Trestman, with attorney general Doug Gansler’s office, was down with Bronrott. “These drinks bare no resemblance to what we traditionally label beer,” she testified. “This bill would put those beverages where distilled spirits are sold.”

So what the hell is an alcopop?

According to the bill’s text, such a drink is no more than 6% alcohol by volume — the same as beer. But unlike beer, which is totally the product of fermentation, an alcopop can pull just under half of its alcohol content from other sources of booze. In other words, it’s a mixed drink.

“These are not flavored beers,” Trestman said. “They’re lemonades, they’re colas.”

But should alcopop sales be restricted to hard-core liquor stores, as the bill demands?

If that were to happen, downtown Silver Springers would have to hit the county-operated liquor depot on Colesville Road to score what The Penguin mailroom guys dub “wussahol”. Smaller joints like the hood’s assorted delis would be out of the running.

And that was the rub for Del Donna Stifler (R-Dist 35A), who sits on the economic-matters committee. The Harford County rep said small stores that handle their business legitimately would be stuck with sacrificing revenues, despite their compliance with checking IDs and keeping kids out of the liquor case.

The committee should announce today whether the bill will move forward for further consideration.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user FaeryBoots.