December 31, 2012

(JTA) — A Maryland lawmaker reportedly is drafting a bill that will allow Jewish state to buy kosher wine online from retailers outside of the state.

State Del. Sam Arora, D- Silver Spring, told the Washington Examiner that he wants to give kosher wine consumers “the ability to live out their faith.” Arora’s district has a large population of observant Jews. 

Current Maryland state law allows residents to buy wine online only from wineries in the country or stores in Maryland. But most kosher wines are made in Israel and France. It is also a crime to carry more than one gallon of wine across the state border. There are no Maryland wineries that produce kosher wine, according to the newspaper.

There are about 35 kinds of kosher wine available in Maryland, Cailey Locklair, director of government relations at the Baltimore Jewish Council, told the newspaper. 
 

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