Winebits 735: The three-tier system is always worth a few giggles edition

This week’s wine news: Three-tier news from around the country, including long-time favorites Pennsylvania and Utah

• No more state stores? Pennsylvania legislators, for what seems like the millionth time, will attempt to privatize the state’s infamous government-owned retail liquor store system. This time, they’ll try to amend the Pennsylvania constitution to get around a potential veto. Regular readers will remember that Pennsylvania’s state store system defies almost all logic, political and economic. Its supporters include Democrats, anti-booze Republicans, and the state’s wholesalers, while those who oppose it are mostly anti-regulation Republicans.

• Yes, even in Utah: Utah residents may soon be able to order beer, wine, and spirits on-line, just like almost everyone else in the 21^st century. Why the delay? Because, to quote one trade group official, “In Utah, we have a unique relationship with alcohol which means we often have unique definitions.” How’s that for understatement in a state that used to require a curtain to hide the bar? Proposals in the state legislature may also allow some hard seltzers to be sold in supermarkets and make it legal to purchase 50-ml bottles of booze, which currently are only sold in hotels and on airplanes (with a few exceptions).

• Sunday sales? South Carolina voters may be able to decide to let liquor stores in their county open on Sunday. Oddly enough – or maybe not – the state has a county option for beer and wine sales, but not to let liquor stores open. My favorite part of this? A quote from one of the bill’s supporters: “As an Ambassador, I saw first-hand how outdated South Carolina laws create barriers in business and stand in the way of people investing in our state.” Which shows just how screwed up U.S. liquor laws are – one has to be an ambassador to a foreign country to notice?

Photo: “Nan Drinking Wine at Four Point Winery” by nan palmero