Lobby seeks to expand wine sales in Nev.
By Sean Whaley, Las Vegas Review Journal
CARSON CITY — A coalition of wine enthusiasts has formed to lobby the 2015 Legislature to allow production and sales of the fermented beverage in Clark and Washoe counties.
Nevada law now bans the selling of wine that is made “on premise” in counties with more than 100,000 residents.
The prohibition means wineries can operate now in only less populated Nevada jurisdictions. Nye, Douglas and Churchill counties have operating wineries.
The Nevada Wine Coalition will lobby the Legislature to remove the population limitation and allow wineries to make and sell wine on-site in a tasting room.
Reno resident Dennis Eckmeyer, president of the coalition, said wine is a $36 billion industry in the United States and has seen growth every year for 21 years.