A new store has opened in Hills Center (Click here for my post on HC.) - (yn) (pronounced wine). A very sleek and modern store, (yn) sells . . . wine, wine, wine. The owner, Ed Fryer, has filled his store with good wines, and most cost less than $20 per bottle. I'll tell you a little more about (yn) tomorrow, but I wanted to elaborate on Tennessee's wine laws to give you a little background before you see his store.
In yesterday's post, I mentioned that state laws prohibit grocers and other stores from selling wine. Actually, the state laws regarding alcohol sales are among the most stringent in the US.
Consider:
* If you want to buy wine or hard liquor, you must go to a liquor store.
* It is a felony for state residents to buy wine from a winery or over the internet and have it shipped to their homes.
* Wine retailers must buy wine directly from state-approved distributors.
* There are no wine/liquor sales on Sunday. (There used to be a law prohibiting the sale of beer before noon on Sundays. I think that law changed when the Titans started playing in Tennessee so that they could sell beer before noon games. However, I'm not sure about that.)
* In an effort to curb underage drinking, the state passed a law requiring that everyone (no matter how old you look) who purchases beer in a store in TN provide a photo ID. Clerks now scan your driver's license at checkout. This is not the case for wine or liquor. Click here to read about that law.
* Groceries may sell beer but not wine. If the liquor store sells beer as well as wine and liquor, the store must keep the beer in a separate establishment with its own outside entrance. In other words, one cannot go directly from the section of the store that houses the wine/liquor into the section that sells beer. You have to enter each from its own separate entrance from the outside.
Legislators are currently considering a law that would allow grocers to sell wine. A statewide campaign backed by the grocery lobby is in full swing right now. You can read more about it here. Called "Red White and Food," the campaign started last week. (Click that for more information on RWF.)
Tomorrow, I'll tell you a little bit about Ed and (yn).
