Will USPS be shipping wine soon?

When you want to send a bottle of fine Sonoma Valley wine to friends or family out of state, do you often find yourself standing in line at UPS rather than shipping it through the winery? I’m right there with you, my friend.

It’s often cheaper to “do it yourself” rather than have wineries take care of it, right? Especially, if you’re just buying one or two bottles. Well, soon you might opt-in for that shipping, if the US Postal Service is allowed to ship wine.

A new bill being proposed to Congress, led by California’s own Rep. Jackie Speier (D), aims to allow USPS to compete with  businesses by shipping wine and distilled spirits.

“It’s ridiculous that we’re allowing UPS, FedEx, and other companies to ship spirits, wine, and beer to consumers, while banning the US Postal Service from doing the exact same thing,” said Speier who has named the bill the USPS Shipping Equity Act. “As more states allow direct to consumer delivery, we need to lift this dated ban…to give consumers more shipping choices when they check out.”

The law that bans the USPS from shipping wine and booze dates back to Prohibition, and it isn’t helping the financially struggling arm of the federal government. It’s big business: by allowing the USPS to ship wine, beer and liquor, they expect to bring in an additional revenue of $50 million annually.

Note, the bill will only allow “wine or malt beverages” to be mailed directly by wineries and breweries. You won’t be able to bring the wine to the post office to ship it, yet.