2012.01.20
Two alcohol sales bills advance in the Va. Senate
RICHMOND — The General Assembly — well, at least part of it — seemed to have booze on the brain this morning.
Two bills advanced today granting special forms of alcohol sales. They were two of a handful of alcohol-related legislation docketed for a hearing in the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services.
The first will allow boutique distilleries, specifically one outside Nelson County about 35 miles southwest of Charlottesville, to sell their product on-site. The distillery must be located in a county with less than 20,000 people, and the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control must approve the license.
The bill, by Del. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath County, is to allow the Virginia Distillery Company in Lovingston, Va., to sell its whiskey after tours of its facility. If approved, the effort will create about 20 jobs, more if the distillery builds a visitor’s center, said company chair John McCray.
The second will allow the state’s NASCAR tracks in Richmond and Martinsville to sell mixed beverages, a privilege afforded select other venues, including Farm Bureau Live in Virginia Beach and the Virginia International Raceway in Alton, said Sen. Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, the bill’s patron.
– Kathy Adams | The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot
