Photo by Buck Lucas |
Vintner Squeezed by Shipping Law
Lisa Kirk, Public Affairs and Publications
If you can order a jug of maple syrup from Vermont, why can't
you order a bottle of zinfandel from California? That frustrating
situation spurred wine grower David Lucas to become an advocate
for changing direct shipping of wine laws and, eventually, a plaintiff
in one of the wine industry's most important cases.
Lucas (B.S., Agriculture, '65) started The Lucas Winery in Lodi,
California, in 1977. Small family-owned wineries like his rely on
direct sales to survive. However, 26 states prohibit interstate
direct wine shipping. For a wine to be transported to one of those
states, it must go from the winery to a distributor, then to a retailer,
a process that squeezes a vintner's profits, and one that many view
as discriminatory." This really has hurt my business over the
years,” says Lucas.
Lucas, along with four others, sued the state of New York, which
bans out-of-state wine shipments. In November 2002, Lucas had a
taste of success, when a federal judge ruled New York's law unconstitutional.
The case is now on appeal.
In May 2003, the Coalition for Free Trade, a group of California
wine organizations, hired attorney Kenneth Starr, with hopes that
he will take the direct shipping issue all the way to the United
States Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, back at the vineyard, as the issue makes its way through
the judicial system, Lucas tends his vines in the deep and sandy
soil of Lodi. The cool delta breeze helps create slowly ripened
fruit and, ultimately, elegant zinfandels with aromas of blackberries,
dark cherries, and spices. Sounds like wine worth shipping.
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