Today I presented my bill, LD 1008, An Act to Increase Consumer Choice in Wine, in front of the Joint Standing Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs.  This bill is also commonly referred to as the “free the grapes” legislation, allowing Maine consumers to order wine by mail (instead of having to get it through a wholesaler).  The State of Maine is now one out of 15 states that still bans direct shipment of wine.  Should this bill pass favorably out of committee (and there are plenty of opponents, such as the wine wholesalers in Maine), there will likely be lively floor debate in the House Chamber, as there has in previous sessions on bills of the same topic.  I will keep you posted on how it goes, and whether in the future you can order up some great California wine from your home…….