Macon Magazine

Lawmakers and wine distributors said the ban was designed to prevent minors from obtaining alcohol. Wine connoisseurs said the ban was designed to prevent distributors from losing business.

But it’s a moot point now, because the law has changed. Since July 1 Georgians have been allowed to buy wine without leaving the house. It’s just like shopping for a book; you can browse on the Internet, compare prices and reviews, order with a credit card number and track the shipment online.

Carl Flair is a local wine lover who has taken advantage of home delivery by purchasing hard-to-find pinot noirs through a California broker called The Wine Selection.

“The only reason I am using them is that I can obtain from them the $40-$60 pinots that I’m looking for,” Flair said. “You couldn’t get what I’m getting locally. It’s not available.”

Flair is a retired business executive whose home on Lake Tobesofkee includes a temperature-controlled wine cellar. He estimates that he spends about $2,500 a year on wine. He spends about half of that in Macon wine stores, about 30 percent in Atlanta and the rest on out-of-state orders to be shipped home.

Even though Flair spends a lot on wine, he still looks for value. This is why he won’t abandon wine stores even though the new law allows him other options.

“I wouldn’t buy wine out-of-state because it’s a bargain, because it’s really not, once you pay $50 for shipping for a case.”

Georgia’s law regarding direct shipping of wine has been evolving. Earlier, shoppers could have wine delivered to their homes only if they visited specially licensed wineries in person. The new law allows you to stay home and order by computer or telephone.

Still, you can order only from wineries that have paid the $50 annual fee for a Georgia Special Order Shipping License. As of August the Georgia Department of Revenue had issued 272 licenses to wineries all over the country. License holders run the gamut from small operations like Tertulia Cellars of Walla Walla, Wash., to big players like Foster’s Wine Estates, which owns dozens of brands including Beringer, Rosemount Estates, Chateau St. Jean and Penfolds
Department of Revenue spokesman Charles Willey said there has been a “bump-up” of about 100 new shipping licenses for wineries since the new law went into effect in July.

He predicted that the law would help create a niche market but not a revolution in the way Georgians buy wine.

“The wineries who are going to use this are the wineries who do not have a distribution agreement through a retailer in Georgia,” Willey said. “This mainly applies to small wineries … I see it as something for the wine connoisseur who wants a particular wine that’s not available. This might give them access to that wine.”

Georgians now have the freedom to shop for wine online, but that doesn’t make it easy. Industry leader Wine.com still doesn’t ship to Georgia. A spokesman for Wine.com said in an e-mail that Georgia law permits only wineries to ship, not retailers. But Young’s Fine Wines and Spirits, a New York retailer that sells hundreds of wine brands through Youngswines.com, says it ships to Georgia.

A discouraging and common sight on wine Web sites is an alphabetical list of “states we ship to,” which almost always jumps from Florida to Hawaii.

Even some sites representing wineries with Georgia Special Order Shipping Licenses still don’t allow for shipments to Georgia, but this can be because the site hasn’t been updated. A shopper can get around this by ordering by telephone or e-mail.

There are three things to bear in mind when ordering wine online.

First, shipping costs are high. California-based Cellar360.com charges $19.83 to ship one bottle of wine to Macon by FedEx Ground, and that doesn’t include the cost of the wine. The cost per bottle drops with the size of the order. Shipping is $20.94 for two bottles and $51.80 for a 12-bottle case.

Second, an adult of legal drinking age must sign for the wine upon delivery.  Unless you work at home you should have the wine delivered to a business.

Third, hot temperatures can spoil wine during shipping, which can take a week or more. If you must order during the summer, consider paying extra for express delivery.

Considering the confusion and obstacles facing the online wine shopper in Georgia, it’s not surprising that the trend hasn’t yet caught on.

Bill Netttleton, owner of WineStyles of Macon, said the new law hasn’t affected his business at all.
“I’ve only heard one customer talk about online wine orders,” Nettleton said.

Nettleton can help customers find special wines by ordering them from distributors. The drawback is that special orders must be at least six bottles, and that Georgia distributors don’t carry all the wines that are available online. The advantage is that the customer doesn’t have to pay for shipping.

“There aren’t many wineries that offer free shipping, and that’s where the difference is,” Nettleton said.

One person who welcomes the new law is Steve Gibson, general manager of Habersham Winery in Helen and president of the Winegrower’s Association of Georgia.

“It’s a good thing,” Gibson said. “It’s a matter of giving customers access to products.”

Gibson said the turning point in efforts to legalize home wine delivery in Georgia was Granholm v. Heald, a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision involving wine-shipment laws in New York and Michigan. The court found the laws violated the Constitution because they permitted in-state wineries to ship directly to consumers but prohibited out-of-state wineries from doing so. Since then, states all over the country have been changing their laws to make them “Granholm-compliant,” Gibson said.

There’s definitely a market for home wine delivery, even if it is small. Gibson said Habersham had three or four customers waiting for wine shipments by they time the winery obtained its license last summer.

“The small wineries who did not have wholesale distribution in place would benefit mostly,” Gibson said. “With gas prices what they are, people from south Georgia won’t want to drive all the way to north Georgia to buy wine.”