As you probably know wine and liquor laws are largely the responsibility of the individual states. No offense to my friends in the Keystone state, but Pennsylvania is extremely regulated in this area. The powers in Harrisburg determine what can be sold and at what price. Imagine my surprise when I read that Pennsylvania is soon to embark on an experiment with wine kiosks.
I am not kidding here. We are talking about wine vending machines. The state has approved deployment of 20 machines in grocery and convenience stores in Western Pennsylvania. Each machine can hold a maximum of 500 bottles and 50 different varieties. It sounds like the machine can control things better than the clerk at the counter. The buyer needs to scan a drivers license and a camera will confirm that there is a match. There is also a breatherlizer to determine current blood alcohol levels.
The Wine Witch is not completely sure how she feels about this one. There is no doubt that this is convenient. Also, it is probably a good policy not to sell alcohol to people who are already drunk. However, there are some potential downsides. Such convenience can make you lazy and limit your opportunities to explore new wines. If these kiosks become popular, it might have a chilling effect on the smaller producers who could not compete in this arena.
I will keep you posted as I hear more.
Related posts:
Posted in 
I hope they put one of one these in my building at work!