(Wines&Vines) - With legal marijuana sales and a burgeoning wine industry, U.S. residents who don’t live in Colorado may not have realized how restricted retail alcohol sales have been. While not exactly a “control state,” Colorado has limited most alcohol sales to liquor stores and a virtual handful of retail outlets.

Colorado’s SB 197 originated in the state senate, made its way relatively rapidly through the legislature and was signed into law by Gov. John Hickenlooper last week. After it takes effect in January 2017, the “compromise liquor law” will phase in over the course of 20 years, allowing licensed grocery and drug stores to obtain liquor licenses for multiple locations and giving existing liquor stores an opportunity to adjust to the changing market.

Current law permits grocery and drug store chains a single liquor license for the entire state. That means that in all of Colorado, only one Walmart, Safeway, Rite Aid or Target location was permitted to sell alcoholic beverages.