Giftgivers can now send a special taste of central New York to family and friends living out of state.

New legislation was signed into law by Gov. George E. Pataki in July, and allows the direct shipment of wine from New York state right to the doorstep of consumers out of state.

It has taken several years of dedication and hard work by professionals in the wine and grape industry, lobbyists, and the general public to see this law come to fruition just in time for the 2005 holiday season.

Local wineries are expecting to see an economic increase this winter and next year with the opening of new markets that are out of state. Some have already had a boost in sales just prior to Thanksgiving.

“We've already seen it (an increase) with about 10 cases ready to go out,” said Peter Saltonstall, owner of King Ferry Winery with his wife Tacie, both key proponents in getting the law passed.

“People who have visited us over the summer called to order a case of Chardonnay for Thanksgiving. They are not only buying the wine, but remembering the experience they had on their tour with us.”

Saltonstall began to work on making a change with the law about four years ago. After two years of defeat, which basically included not even getting on the agenda, resulting in being locked out of the legislative process, Saltonstall and his colleagues decided to take a new approach. They went full-force by hiring noted lobbyist Patricia Lynch Associates and enlisting the help of the Farm Bureau.

“It was key because they were on the ground in Albany,” said Saltonstall whose winery is located on Cayuga Lake.

In addition, a grassroots campaign was formed, and more than 17,000 consumers signed a petition in favor of interstate shipping of wine products. Over the course of two legislative sessions, Saltonstall and supporters lobbied and educated state representatives on the New York wine industry, culminating with 40 to 50 wineries and spending one day at the Capitol to culminating with 40 to 50 wineries and spending one day at the Capitol to meet with the entire Legislature. What pushed them over the edge was the United States Supreme Court decision in May, that overturned a law barring out-of-state wineries to ship direct to the homes of New York state consumers.

“It's pretty cool and I'm thrilled we finally got it done,” said Saltonstall. “We had a lot of good people working on it.”

Chris Scholomiti, owner of CJS Vineyards, a small vineyard in Auburn, agrees this is good for business.

“It's a plus for us, obviously. We get a lot of folks here on vacation in the summer and fall from out-of-state who like our wine, now we can ship to them.”

Auburn Discount Liquor & Wine has only had requests to ship out-of-state on occasion, but it has been difficult not to be able to accommodate customers according to Cathy Donovan, who owns the store on Seminary Street.

“Now we would be happy to send it out,” she said.

Some feel the law is not perfect, because of its complicated nature and the additional challenges with record keeping due to the varying tax rates per state. The law allows each winery to determine which states it will ship to and not all will ship to the same states.

So while you may be able to ship your favorite Reisling from one winery, you may not be able to ship a Pinot Noir from another winery down the road to the same recipient.

Saltonstall recognizes the difficulties, but also points out that with all new things it takes time to work out the bugs. He has taken steps to make it simpler for his staff and consumers by preparing a policy book for all 50 states as a reference guide, and also revamping the Web site to make ordering easier.

Looking down the road, Saltonstall sees great opportunities for both wineries and consumers, since the passing of this law includes nationwide wine clubs.

“We've worked hard now let's make it work for us,” he said.