Governor Schwarznegger has signed SB 118 into law, and barring events to the contrary, wineries all over the US will be able to ship directly to consumers in California beginning in 2006 (well actually, starting on January 1st, they can apply for a permit to do that).
For California wineries, this is the first shoe to drop. Hopefully, California's willingness to open its market to wineries across the US will lead other states to enact similar legislation (the other shoe), creating new markets for California wines (specifically those from smaller family-owned wineries). The bet is that California wineries won't experience sigificant competition from out-of-state wineries.
For out-of-state wineries, a new market of wine drinkers is opening up. The benficiaries will be those wineries who manage to make Californians aware of what their wines have to offer.
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