(AZCapitolTimes) - Developing local economic opportunity was important to me as mayor of Phoenix. It still is. Arizona is fortunate to have a governor like Doug Ducey who is committed to making Arizona succeed in the new global economy. Like ordering a car service from an app on your phone like Uber, allowing adults to order wine online or over the phone to be shipped to their home or office will send a message that Arizona is ready to compete.

Consumer choice is important to all of us. Arizona citizens deserve the same buying power and choices as residents of other states. More than 40 states already allow legal direct shipment of wine from wineries to consumers. Arizona’s law is part of the past and to bring us up to date and ready for the future, I’m supportive of the “Free the Grapes” bill (SB1381) introduced by Sen. Nancy Barto.

The proposed law will help grow the Arizona wine industry by expanding the direct to consumer shipping rights of Arizona farm wineries and is supported by the Arizona wine industry. It will also bring Arizona consumer choice into the 21stcentury. Currently, with the exception of very small wineries, Arizona wine consumers may only purchase wine directly from wineries that they have personally visited in the last year, and then to only two cases a year. 

The law will remove that penalty, allowing Arizona consumers the ability to order wine, shipped directly to their home or business, from any winery in the country that is licensed to ship to Arizona