Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 3 · column 1 of 4 · from the scan, no model involved
By Nadiya Abraham
Capital News Service
>Va' ~ 7116 ^ebate over the right of Virginias wineries to self-distribute their product rages on in the General Assembly.
Delegate Christopher B. Saxman, Rbtaunton, proposed a bill that would give
winerie3 the right to self-distribute up to d.OOU cases of wine a year directly to retailers.
, .^8. important that farm wineries regain their rights,” Saxman said, referring to past years when Virginia wineries had the right to self-distnbute their product. _ A ^9?® U.S. district court ruling made use ot distributors mandatory for wine businesses, t decision resulted from a court case in which a federal court found Virginia’s self-regulatory practices unconstitutional. The court said wineries from other states were required to use distributing companies to place their products in the Virginia market.
^nn Heidig, president of the Virginia Wineries Association, said that as a result of the recent restriction, wine businesses in Virginia are losing significant amounts of profit. Consumers, she said, now face the problem of fewer wine choices and higher costs.
Small wineries in Virginia, which cannot afford to pay distributors, also are facing the threat of going out of business, Heidig said.
Delegates Teriy G. Kilgore, R- Gate City, and Clarence E. Phillips, D- Castlewood, support the idea of wineries having the right to
83.2%