There’s a New Bill to End the USPS Ban on Shipping Alcohol. Here’s What it Could Mean.

For United States Postal Service (USPS) home delivery, a six-pack of Syrah is as forbidden as a handgun. But Senator Jeff Merkley from Oregon recently introduced the USPS Shipping Equity Act to change that (the wine delivery, not the guns).

Dating back to Prohibition, Title 18 of the U.S. Code has prohibited the USPS from delivering wine, beer or liquor. However, private shipping companies like FedEx and UPS can ship alcohol to your home. Hence the word “equity” in the bill’s title.

If passed, the USPS Shipping Equity Act will clear the way for mail carriers to deliver alcoholic beverages directly from licensed producers and retailers to consumers of legal age in compliance with state and local shipping regulations. The idea is that by allowing easier and less expensive direct-to-consumer shipping, distillers and wine producers will be able to avoid the constraints of middle-men distributors who don’t typically stock all of their products and take a cut from sales as well as reach customers who live in areas that are not serviced by private carriers.

Merkley’s bill is co-sponsored by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Peter Welch (D-VT) and Patty Murray (D-WA). Representatives Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) introduced similar legislation in the House of Representatives.

The Tumultuous History of Shipping Wine in the Mail

The notion that mail carriers should be allowed to deliver alcoholic beverages like their private sector counterparts is hardly new. Former Representative Jackie Speier (D-CA) sponsored the first USPS Shipping Equity Act in 2013. Her war cry for leveling the alcohol shipping playing field was, “Prohibition is history, and this ban should be too.”

All attempts to pass the USPS Shipping Equity Act over the past decade have gone down in legislative flames. Merkley hopes the sixth time’s a charm. If he’s right, you will soon be able to receive wine with your junk mail and L.L. Bean catalogs.

For wineries, breweries and distilleries, passing this bill would mean having another much-desired option for shipping their beverages to consumers. “Shipping costs are one of the biggest issues when delivering wine,” says Alex Koral, the regulatory general counsel for Sovos ShipCompliant. “I think a lot of wineries are looking for other options.”

Tom Wark is a veteran of the wine shipping battles, having spent the past 17 years as the executive director of the National Association of Wine Retailers. Wark thinks that while competition is a good thing, there’s another important consideration for wineries. “A winery’s job is to get their wine to consumers in good shape for the least amount,” he says. “Wineries will ask two questions—what’s the pricing going to be, and is my wine going to arrive safely?”

In addition to putting the USPS on equal footing with private carriers and offering new delivery options to alcoholic beverage producers, the bill’s proponents offer a couple of major reasons to support its passing.

One is greater access to wine, beer and spirits shipments for rural Americans. A press release on the bill states, “While USPS ships to every household in the nation, private carriers do not, especially in rural areas, leaving many Americans without access to direct-to-consumer alcohol shipments.”

This would not only give rural residents more choice—depending on the rules of the state where they live—it could also help wineries reach more customers through more lucrative direct-to-consumer sales.

This is critical for many small wineries who can not afford the discounts demanded by wholesalers, which may only increase due to an overabundance of inventory and stagnant sales. According to Silicon Valley Bank’s 2024 Direct-to-Consumer Wine Survey: “Without growth, it is likely that distributors will seek discounts and promotions to reduce the backlog.”

Can Pinot Save the Post Office?

Proponents of the bill hail its potential to provide a vital economic boost for the USPS. Last year, the service reported a net loss of $6.5 billion and it is anticipating a similar loss for 2024.

Merkley’s office estimates the bill would generate $190 million annually for the Postal Service. While that figure is better than nothing, it is a mere drop in the spit bucket compared to what the USPS needs to remedy its financial woes.

The $190 million estimate might also be overly optimistic, as it doesn’t consider the costs the USPS would incur in taking on alcohol deliveries. The bill gives the USPS two years to develop the regulations and infrastructure needed to implement the law.

“Not enough people are talking about these costs,” Koral says. “FedEx, UPS and other carriers have spent a lot of money to build out their services in this area. The USPS would need to spend money on scanners and training their drivers to check for ID.”

Wark argues that the modest amount of money that the USPS might make from shipping wine makes this “a largely symbolic bill.” That symbolism, however, is potentially powerful. It also helps explain why this bill may be doomed to fail in Congress once again.

Will It Actually Pass This Time?

“The vast majority of shareholders who matter are opposed to the USPS getting in the alcohol shipping game,” says Wark. He points to groups like the National Beer Wholesalers Association and the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers who, he adds, use millions of dollars of campaign contributions and lobbying expenses to push against these USPS wine shipping bills.

“The strident opposition of the lobby groups is due to the fact that this a real federal government endorsement of interstate wine shipping, and we’ve never had that before,” Wark says.

When asked for a comment, Merkley’s office agreed, describing the USPS Shipping Equity Act as a federal government endorsement of interstate wine shipping.

Such descriptions will likely bring a strong response from the lobby groups. While Koral thinks there’s a 30% chance that this bill might pass, Wark is less optimistic. “These groups will go full bore on killing this bill now that it’s been re-introduced,” he says. “If I had to make a bet, I’d bet on the bill being killed.”

If the past is prologue, wholesaler lobby groups could soon raise tried-and-true specters such as minors scoring Oregon Pinot Noir through the mail, lost tax collection by the states and even the public safety risk of tainted wine somehow making it into houses across America.

It’s no wonder Wark describes himself as a cynic. “That’s because I’ve seen the money win over and over again,” he says.