Yesterday, Virginia launched a state-subsidized wine distribution company to help small vineyards in the state, reports The Washington Post. The company’s aim is to provide assistance to small winemakers who have struggled since a 2005 federal court ruling said that they could no longer distribute their own wines. In 1980, the General Assembly approved an exemption for Virginia winemakers from a law that required them to sell their products through a licensed wholesaler, but the 2005 ruling deemed that exemption unconstitional. “If it works really well and smoothly, it should be almost as good as direct distribution,” Lew Parker, owner of Willowcroft Farm Vineyards in Loudoun County, tells the Post.
The new Virginia Winery Distribution company will help small vineyards in the state sell their wines.