NEW HAMPSHIRE . . . THE WINE LOVER’S STATE

THERE MAY be an ongoing debate as to which state produces the best wine . . . but based on price, availability and regulations, there’s apparently no better place to be a wine drinker than the “Live Free or Die” state. New Hampshire is one of six states, plus the Washington, DC, that scored an A+ on the American Wine Consumer Coalition’s 2O13 report card for its liberal regulations. Consumers in those areas can have wine shipped through the mail, bring bottles to restaurants and buy wine in specialty shops or grocery stores. What sets New Hampshire apart, however, is its tax regime. It’s the only one of those top-performing states that doesn’t levy a tax on wine. California levies an excise tax on wine at a relatively smal l 2O cents per gallon, while DC piles $1.61 per gallon onto the list price. It is one of six states, along with Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming, where the government runs its own liquor stores. But unlike those other states, where government monopoly is a vestige of Prohibition, New Hampshire’s state-run liquor stores are more aggressive in their marketing.