Restaurant owners across Virginia can rest easier today, and maybe even kick back with a celebratory drink, now that the long-awaited Sangria Legalization Act of 2008 has taken effect.

The Act addresses a sour episode of events recently in the Commonwealth where alcohol laws left over from the Prohibition era were being enforced against unsuspecting local restaurants and bars.

The culprit: a concoction of wine, brandy, and fruit, sweetened with sugar and popularly known as Sangria.

The penalty: a fine of up to $2,500 or 12 months in prison.

For decades, Virginia's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has prohibited restaurants from serving Sangria because it violates multiple state laws. Restaurants are not allowed to mix wine or beer with spirits and are prohibited from storing premixed drinks.

"Although there is no one here that was around when the Legislature passed the statute in 1934, I presume that the purpose was to encourage temperance," Curtis Coleburn of the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control told USA Today. "Adding the spirits increases the alcohol content."

Coleburn said that his agents warn restaurants of the restrictions, but do not frequently cite them for violations.

But Shana McKillop, the Managing partner of La Tasca Restaurant in Alexandria, said that her restaurant never received a warning before being fined for serving the beverage.

"We had another location open in Virginia for almost 3 years serving Sangria, which passed every routine inspection," McKillop said in an interview with the Fairfax Times.

"Ignorance of the law is no excuse, but a warning would have sent us in the right direction. Our sangria menus were reworded within weeks of this violation and all mixed batches were disposed of the same day."

As a result of the undercover bust at the restaurant, La Tasca received four violations and was fined $2,000, penalties which the restaurant appealed.  

But the controversy also captured the attention of other restaurant owners, patrons, and officials who criticized Virginia's outdated alcohol laws.

"It just seems to make common sense that government should worry about big issues like transportation and not get too concerned about what people drink," Del. Adam P. Ebbin (D-Alexandria) told the Washington Post.

After meeting with restaurants penalized by the restrictions, Ebbin committed to leading the legislative effort to legalize Sangria and wrote up House Bill 1269. The Bill easily passed through legislature in early 2008 and was signed into law by Gov. Tim Kaine last March.

"It was clearly an antiquated law that needed to be done away with," Ebbin told the Alexandria Gazette. "I can't wait to have my first legal Sangria!"

BY Joseph Rendeiro

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