Wineries will now be able to ship directly to customers around Indiana.

Indianapolis, Ind. (www.GrapeVineTrail.com) -- Indiana wine consumers will once again be able to receive wine shipments from their favorite Indiana wineries without having to visit them first.

Judge John D. Tinder ruled yesterday that a 2006 Indiana law requiring Indiana residents to fill out a face-to-face verification form from any winery they wished to have wine shipped from is unconstitutional. This reinstates the legal privilege for a consumer that was in place for 28 years prior to the 2006 code change.

“We are elated with this decision,” said Bill Oliver, President of Oliver Winery. “The customers that have continued to call from around the state for ours as well as many other Indiana wines will now have the opportunity to once again have wine shipped directly to them,” he added. Prior to 2006 several wineries shipped as many as 1,000 cases to Indiana residents that did not live near a particular winery. All 34 Indiana wineries reported a dramatic drop in instate shipping once the face-to-face requirement was put in place.

Currently, several Indiana wineries are located in rural portions of the state that are not easily accessible from larger markets such as Indianapolis, Evansville and South Bend. “There is no doubt this ruling brings Indiana much more in line with the rest of the country that does not require their residents to provide a face-to-face verification in order to purchase state produced wine,” said Larry Satek, owner of Satek Winery. “We are pleased with the opportunity to welcome our state customers back,” he said. Currently, 80% of U.S. Consumers have free access to wine via direct shipment.

Indiana wines have gained international attention by winning numerous awards at many prestigious wine competitions including the Indy International Wine Competition and the Jerry D. Mead New World International Wine Competition. “Indiana wineries have worked hard at producing quality products that consumers not only in Indiana but around the world enjoy,” added Bill Oliver, “we appreciate every opportunity to compete with some of the well known wineries in California, New York and throughout the Midwest.”

In 2006, over 711,000 gallons of wine were sold instate by Indiana wineries. This number increases to nearly 800,000 when exports to other states and foreign countries are included.

Source: Bloomington/Monroe County Convention and Vistior's Bureau