Goal is to produce enough grapes to supply all of Maryland's wineries

A panel formed to study the state's alcohol control laws kicked off its work Wednesday, but members indicated they will be in no hurry to make changes - not even on the popular issue of permitting wine sales in grocery stores.

This week, a group of state lawmakers will start looking into whether supermarkets and convenience stores should be allowed to sell wine. The debate will reopen the fight about overhauling Tennessee's liquor laws.

That cork from your next wine bottle could have a second life as flooring, as a car engine gasket or even wrapped around the handle of a fishing rod. Cork has joined the ranks of items to recycle instead of tossing in the trash.

Despite the lingering recession, these are good times for the Virginia wine industry. Success can be attributed to more than just good grapes. The industry has some good friends in Richmond.

Advocacy group confident that legislation will pass in 2010

Virginia's one-of-a-kind Illegal Whiskey Unit -- a team of agents dedicated to busting up bootleg stills -- has fallen prey to state budget woes, leaving southwest Virginia's elusive moonshiners without a full-time, dedicated foe for the first time in decades.

The 1.5L cube is, Morris Zwick believes, the perfect size for selling his wine.

Local alcohol laws do not always look favorably on wineries sampling and selling their wares at farmers markets. Maryland restricts its 30 or so wineries to three special-event permits per county per year.

Some vineyards reported rain early in season; weather service says storms headed east, where harvest is still under way

There are 40 wineries in Tennessee and about 100 grape growers, with others getting on board.

Virginia winemakers are happy with the quality of their white grapes this season, but rainy days and cool May nights mean they have less fruit to work with and leave some vineyards scrambling.

The Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Tennessee (WSWT) will partner with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) this fall on the 2009 "We Don't Serve Teens" campaign, a public awareness initiative aimed at curbing underage drinking.

The Food With Wine Coalition, representing the rights of Kentucky grocery stores, has renewed a proposal that grant the right to sell wine in grocery stores, the Bowling Green Daily News reports. This is the third such attempt by the group to win approval from state legislators.

The director of the N.C. Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement announced his sudden retirement Monday, eight days after reports that his agency bought all of its agents assault rifles and that two of the weapons had been stolen.

The retailers are trying one more time to pass legislation to allow the sale of wine in their stores

Study defines areas for improvement; state regulations to be evaluated

Tony Wolf, professor of horticulture, and Bruce Zoecklein, professor of food science and technology both in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, are recognized around the world for their research and outreach in the areas of viticulture and enology.

An effort to change state law so grocery stores can sell wine in wet and "moist" counties will probably come up again in the 2010 Kentucky legislature.

North Carolina consumers are about to feel another pinch in their wallets at the mall, the convenience store and most every retailer in between.