Swipe, smile, blow: Pa. has wine vending machines

[liberal N proud]

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Swipe your driver's license, look into the camera, blow into the breath sensor and — voila! — you have permission to buy a bottle of wine from a vending machine.

Pennsylvania, which has some of the most Byzantine liquor laws in the nation, recently introduced the country's first wine "kiosks." If the machines are successful in their test run inside two grocery stores, the state Liquor Control Board could place the high-tech alcohol automats in about 100 others.

But does anyone want to buy wine this way?

It seems the answer is yes. Customers using the machine at a Giant supermarket outside Harrisburg were thrilled that it could be a permanent fixture.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38142853/ns/today-foodwine/

[Lars39]

1. Sigh...yet here in TN we can't even buy wine in a grocery store.

[NeedleCast]

6. Same in Maryland

[Throckmorton]

8. and Connecticut

along with not being able to buy Alcohol on Sunday or after 8:00 PM.

[Atman]

9. It's actually 9:00 pm, but most Mom & Pops still close at 8:00

The funny thing is, the state is so small that it's pretty easy to drive to Massachusetts or Rhode Island if you're caught shorthanded. The laws in Connecticut don't even have anything to do with religion or temperance. They are entirely about protecting small store owners from being squashed by giant liquor stores who can afford to stay open late and employ more people.

.

[SunnySong]

20. You need to move to the south. 23hr drive thru liquor stores.

None of that religious nonsense you people up north suffer from.

[LibertyLover]

23. In Maryland

you could buy liquor at a grocery store, but since only one license to sell liquor is given out to a company, it would only be possible for one store per chain to sell liquor - so one Giant in Baltimore could sell liquor, one Safeway in Arnold, etc. What I hate about Maryland liquor laws is that you cannot have alcohol mailed directly to your home, so ordering wine from a vineyard or joining a wine club are not possible.

[Art_from_Ark]

26. You can't mail wine through the US Postal Service

and private carriers are pretty darn expensive

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

17. and NY

[lies and propaganda]

21. and Oklahoma

you also cant buy mixers and booze in the same spot, nor booze period on Sun (even in bars) and beer is always 3.2 percent alcohol, cause tahts how jeebus would have it.

[Xipe Totec]

2. Blow into a breath sensor? Realy?

A communal mouthpiece?

:puke:

[Fleshdancer]

4. hopefully you don't have to actually put your mouth on it

I'm assuming there's no tube to blow on, just a small hole where the sensor is. :shrug:

[kirby]

15. That is what the article says n/t

[mike_c]

3. PA customers were "thrilled" because it's just about the only convenient way...

...to buy alcohol in Pennsylvania. Unless they've changed the laws since I lived there in the early 90s. What customers would REALLY be thrilled about is wine, beer, and liquor sold on the shelf in grocery stores and convenience stores 24/7 just like any other product, just like they're sold in most western states, or at least the ones I travel through routinely.

And here in California, even crappy wine selections at mom and pop supermarkets usually far exceed the quality available in most PA state stores that I recall!

[WinkyDink]

5. Long-range plan: Make alcohol for the privileged who drive and have credit cards.

The state wants to eliminate cash transactions.

IOW: Poor winos, keep out.

[kirby]

16. It has nothing to do with that...

It has to do with lobbying by the status quo to preserve their limited distribution channels and profits.

[PBS Poll-435]

7. Driving through Missouri (Which I thought was much more Fundie than Texas...)

Had liquor for sale at 4 in the morning at an Exxon.

[NeedleCast]

12. Texas is relativly sane compared to some states in the North East

Penn and Maryland are two of the worst offenders but I don't know about liquor laws in several of the far north Northeastern states.

[SPedigrees]

14. We buy wine and beer at grocery and convenience stores here in vermont.

And also at state liquor stores licensed to sell stronger spirits. Laws may have changed, but in MA wine and/or beer was only sold in liquor stores.

[sharp_stick]

13. Same in Quebec

24/7 at gas stations for beer and some surprisingly decent wine.

[47of74]

19. I think it depends where you are in Missouri

Some of the more rural areas are probably that extra crispy variety of fundie than areas like Kansas City or St. Louis.

[PBS Poll-435]

22. Very true. I was about 50 miles from St. Louis

Keep in mind, though, I am from Texas. We got Waco, Denton, Rockwall & Alamo Heights.


We got Fundie down pat.

[Fleshdancer]

10. I miss the beer vending machines in Japan

There was nothing high tech about them though...just your normal vending machines located on the street next to the coke machines.

[Art_from_Ark]

27. They're all gone now, I think

They seem to have met the same fate as the semi-X-rated video vending machines.

[Bunny]

11. This is just ridiculous.

What PA needs to do is get rid of the State Stores and let supermarkets and other retail outlets sell wine and booze. It's a bizarre and paternalistic system that's been in place since prohibition was repealed (literally).

[47of74]

18. Swipe, smile, and blow?

That sounds dirty...

[Mimosa]

24. Whoa, I thought GA was bad (no grocery wine/beer sales Sundays)

OMG. In Louisiana we could buy booze in groceries 24/7.

That vending system sucks because it would mean a very limited selection.

[47of74]

25. Are there still dry areas in Louisiana?

I have family in central Louisiana near Pineville. When I last was down there 14 years ago the part of the parish where they lived was dry. They had to cross over into Alexandria to buy beer. I don't know if that's changed or not, and it's been a few years since my uncle or his family have been up to see us here in Iowa.