February 21, 2013

WASHINGTON (JTA) — A majority in Maryland’s lower house backs a bill that would allow overseas vintners to directly ship kosher wine to consumers in the state.

The bill, sponsored by State Delegate Sam Arora, a Silver Spring Democrat whose district has a large population of observant Jews, has 76 backers in the 141-member House of Delegates, according to a report Tuesday in Southern Maryland Online.

Maryland allows direct shipping of domestic U.S. wine, but there are only 16 U.S.-made kosher wines, with most coming from countries like Israel and France. It is also a crime to carry more than one gallon of wine across the state border. No Maryland wineries produce kosher wine,

Some 35 kosher wines are available in Maryland, but not all kosher-observant Jews live in proximity to the retailers that carry them.

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