Greetings, Had a wonderful time at chez gregory. Thanks to Warren/Ruth/Princess This Thursday, Auriga style wines at Auriga. If you think it's a good fit for the menu, bring it. no corkage 18% will be added to the bill. 10 percent tax zone. 1/3 rule barely covers it. Yes Bob Betsy Russ Jim Guess: Lori Roger Nicolai Karin Later/Maybe Louise Sunday, Brunch at Bobino. Champagne w/ the usual "rules" about ringers and supporting bottles (dessert, pinot...) Bring flutes.... Look for a seperate message. Yes Joyce Dave Bob Betsy Lori Bill Jim/Louise Russ/Sue Warren/Ruth Nikolai Karin Cheers, Jim May 17, 2005 By JENNIFER STEINHAUER Sounds of joy - not yet drunken - flowed from the wine cellars of Long Island yesterday after the Supreme Court cleared the way for vineyards to sell directly to drinkers. Many of the biggest wine sellers of Manhattan also rejoiced, as did local fans of Le Cigare Volant Riserva Triperfecto, a barely available wine made in Santa Cruz, Calif. "This is the beginning of a new era for wine marketing and the liberty of commerce," said Charles Massoud, who owns Paumanok Vineyards in Aquebogue, N.Y., with his wife, Ursula, and expects profits from his Long Island wines to increase 5 percent as a result of the decision. "People can now be treated like adults, where heretofore we were deprived of a fundamental freedom. As a small business owner, this is helpful because it opens the door for us to be responsive at least to those people who from the tristate area who come and visit us here." Winemakers in New York had been frustrated that they had been unable to ship even to Connecticut and New Jersey, and wine lovers have bemoaned their inability to buy from small vineyards in California and other states. It is now up to the Legislature in Albany to decide how to respond to the court. Because the ruling said states had to treat instate wine customers the same as those from out of state, New York can forbid all direct sales to consumers, ending the right of New York winemakers to sell to New Yorkers directly, or allow interstate wine commerce for all. Before the Supreme Court acted, 26 states permitted direct shipments to consumers from winemakers, and 24 banned them. New York permitted such sales only if a winery maintained a physical presence in the state. "It has been very complicated and confusing, because so many states have so many different laws," the executive director of the Long Island Wine Council, Steven Bate, said. Gov. George E. Pataki said yesterday that he supported interstate wine sales but wanted to ensure that minors would not be able to buy wine online as a result of any changes to state law. "I just hope we are able to put in place safeguards," Mr. Pataki said at a news conference in Albany, to make sure "adults only in an appropriate manner are purchasing interstate." "We will be able to sell more of our really strange and exotic and esoteric wines," said John Locke, creative director for the Bonny Doon Vineyard in Santa Cruz, maker of that Le Cigare Volant Riserva Triperfecto, one of many wines available only through the vineyard's wine club. "We have a wine club with 7,000 members, and we can expand that." Eric Asimov contributed reporting for this article. -- ------------------------------ * * Dr. James Lee Ellingson, Adjunct Professor jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * University of Minnesota, tel: 651/645-0753 fax 651 XXX XXXX * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *