Sunday, May 1, 2011

INDIANA LAWMAKERS HIGH ON INDIANA WINE


Wine News

An article in Indiana's Herald Bulletin reveals that Indiana legislators are trying to find new ways to help the Hoosier State's growing wine industry.

When the Indiana Wine Grape Council was created in 1989, it had only nine wineries on the books.  Today, Indiana boasts more than 50 wineries in the north and south parts of the state.
The Grape Wine Council says Indiana wineries get 800,000 visitors each year, with the Indiana wine industry adding $33 million to the state's economy.

Indiana wine is seen as a huge benefit for the rural areas where most of the wineries are.

A bill has been introduced which would increase the number of festival permits allowing wineries to serve and sell wine, and it would call on the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission to study how other states bolster their wine industries.

It may not seem like a very large step, but Indiana, like many states, still has antiquated laws on the books affecting the sale of wine - laws that were put there after Prohibition.  Even an Indiana ban on selling wine on Sundays - a law put on the books in 1816 - is still in effect today.

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