LETTERS.

Wine lovers vocal about alcohol sales on Net

Blow to consumers

To the Editor:

In his Front Lines article on the recent Texas court decision to allow interstate shipment of alcohol, specifically wine, to private citizens in this state, Robert Saunders makes a number of broad statements that beg closer examination ("Ruling is 'victory for bootleggers,' "April 28-May 4 issue).

It was no accident that the case, which came before the federal judge in Houston, involved the sale of wine. All of the data collected to date show that wine accounts for most of the interstate sales to private citizens. Beer is a very distant second and hard liquor accounts for so little as to be insignificant. Therefore, my comments will refer specifically to wine sales.

The typical consumer purchasing wine over the Internet or through a catalog does so because he or she can purchase wines unavailable in the local market. Far from being "bootleggers," these wine lovers are interested in sampling the broad range of product available from wineries that, often, sell only at the winery or through the …