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Local distilleries working nonstop after Ohio, West Virginia counties ban liquor sales to out-of-state residents

Local distilleries have been working nonstop after several counties in Ohio and West Virginia have banned liquor sales to out-of-state residents.

Stores in Hancock, Brooke and Monongalia counties banned liquor sales to people outside of West Virginia starting on April 6.

On April 13, Ohio’s governor restricted liquor sales in Ashtabula, Trumbull, Mahoning, Columbiana, Jefferson and Belmont counties.

This all comes after the announcement on April 1 that Fine Wine & Good Spirits were going to start online orders., but that hasn’t come without issues.

Most customers are greeted with this message when trying to access the website:

Officials said that access to the site will be “randomized to avoid overwhelming the site with high traffic, prevent order abuse and prolong access throughout the day, so that order availability isn’t exhausted in seconds or minutes each day.”

Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores were ordered closed by Gov. Tom Wolf on March 17.

So many people are now relying on distilleries in our area.

“There are dozens of craft distilleries across Pennsylvania that you can buy directly from them so you are supporting local farmers you’re supporting local staff you’re supporting your friends and neighbors by doing it,” said Meredith Meyer Grelli, Co-owner of Wigle Whiskey.

Channnel 11 reached out to the Pennsylvania liquor control board to see if they plan to expand the online sales because there’s such a high demand. We have not heard back yet.