slides: Massachusetts Ranks Poorly For Wine Drinkers

Email to a friend Permalink

Saturday, August 24, 2013

GoLocalWorcester Food Team

While Massachusetts wine drinkers may love their local vineyards and wine shops, it turns out that Massachusetts is one of the worst-ranked states in the country for wine lovers, according to a new report from The American Wine Consumer Coalition in Washington, DC.

The report, called "Consuming Concerns", both grades and ranks each state based on how friendly its wine laws are for consumers. Massachusetts pulled a failing grade--an 'F'--and ranked #44 overall, tied with neighboring Rhode Island.

In summary, "Massachusetts wine consumers are burdened by onerous laws that deprive the state’s wine lovers of choice and convenience when it comes to buying wine," according to the report. "Massachusetts law allows for no sales of wine in grocery stores, no direct to consumer shipment of wine from wineries and no direct to consumer shipment of wine from wine retailers, making the state among the worst for wine consumer selection and convenience." The only area in which Massachusetts gained some points was in the Coalition's assessment of government control, where there's none. 

Grading wine friendliness

To rank each state, the Coalition assigned certain set of points for each way it met consumer needs on six issues:  

1. Winery Shipping 
2. No State Monopoly on Wine Sales
3. Retailer Shipping
4. Sunday Wine Sales
5. Bringing Wine Into Restaurants
6. Wine Sales in Grocery Stores 

If a state did not meet consumer expectations on any of these six issues, it received no ranking points for that issue. On the issue of bringing wine into restaurants, states might receive partial point allocation when the conduct was allowed but only under specific, restrictive conditions. Points up to 100 maximum were then translated into a letter grade based on a typical grading scale. 

Least + most friendly wine states

Along with Rhode Island and Massachusetts, the Top 10 Least Friendly States for Wine Lovers are Indiana, South Dakota, Delaware, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Utah.  On the friendlier end of the spectrum, the Top 10 are, in descending order: California, District of Columbia, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oregon, Virginia, Louisiana, Nevada, Alaska-Tie for 10th, and Wyoming-Tie for 10th.

For more details on Massachusetts's wine laws as well as those of the other 6 New England states, see the slides, below.

Related Articles

• The Cellar: 21 Great Wines For Thanksgiving Day
• The Cellar: Great Wines for Outdoor Parties
• The Cellar: Spanish Wines Under $10
• The Cellar: New Wines, Great Values
• The Cellar: Sparkling Wines From France + California
• The Cellar: 4 Great Sparkling Wines for New Year’s Eve
• The Cellar: Red Wines To Serve on Christmas
• The Cellar: Standout Wines From Mohegan Sun’s WineFest 2013
• The Cellar: Cooling Off With Sparkling Wines
• The Cellar: Red Wines for Chilly Winter Nights
• The Cellar: Two Wines You Should Always Have On Hand
• The Cellar: Delicious White Wines Under $20
• The Cellar: Red, White, Rose–3 Wines For The Holiday Weekend
• The Cellar: Westport Rivers Vineyard + Winery
• The Cellar: Don’t Miss The 2013 Boston Wine Expo
• The Cellar: Sipping Wines for Spring
• The Cellar: Wines That Get Better With Time
• Massachusetts Ranks Poorly For Wine Drinkers
• The Cellar: French Wine Finds for Spring
• The Cellar: Spanish Wines For Under $20
• The Cellar: Wines To Pair With Dad’s Favorite Dishes
• New England Summer Getaways For Wine Lovers
• The Cellar: Great Wine Grabs From Oregon + Washington State
• The Cellar: Spanish Wines From Ribera del Duero

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

Email to a friend Permalink