Virginia May Say Adios to Sangria

Danielle O'Steen

January 24, 2008

The Virginia General Assembly is debating a 75-year-old law today, which makes serving sangria illegal for local restaurants. The Washington Post reported today that an Alexandria restaurant, La Tasca Spanish Tapas Bar and Restaurant, was cited four times and fined $2,000 by Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control in 2006 for offering the Spanish cocktail to patrons.Why sangria? It seems the law, passed in 1934 after prohibition was appealed, bans the combining of wine or beer and liquor (thought to keep people from becoming too intoxicated) or storing spirits outside of their container (sangria is typically kept in a large pitcher), in order to show that the alcohol has been purchased though Virginia regulators. However, according to DCist, the bill makes an allowance for sangria but not other cocktails with the same problem.

The Post quotes state senator Chap Petersen: “Sometimes I feel in Virginia we're still working off a prohibition mentality. The rigid construct of state laws is not reflective of modern times."

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