(Wines&Vines) - On the evening of March 21, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a bill that would gradually end Pennsylvania’s monopoly of the sales of wine and liquor. The distribution and sale of beer would also be affected if the legislation passes the Pennsylvania state Senate and is signed into law by Gov. Tom Corbett. This is the first time that privatization legislation has been passed by either legislative body since the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board was established in 1933.

What would privatization mean for the wineries in Pennsylvania? How did Pennsylvania end up as a monopoly state? What regulations govern how Pennsylvania wineries currently sell wine in the state? How do the wineries feel about the potential changes privatization would bring? As the saying goes, the devil is in the details, and the impact for wineries will depend on the exact language of any bill that passes the Senate.