Pennsylvania's Wine Dispensing Vending Machines

Ugh... to be nice to the next person behind me guess it will be a big idea to have some garlic or curry before going to the store to buy wines....

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I mean "BAD idea".... >_<

sorry typo....

This will last about as long as self checkout lanes at walmart.

I don't understand why it is a problem to sell wine in grocery stores. This kiosk is basically doing the same thing, right? If you want to have the state liquor board more involved to limit underage drinking, just have things over 50 proof at a special state liquor store, or require a stricter liquor license so only specialty shops will carry them.

They already do have all alcohol being sold at liquor stores and bars. It's been like that for a long time now. This is just a more automated version of the state controlled liquor store in PA.

Liquor laws are so annoying. Why make kids who are going to drink anyway, criminals?

This isn't so bad, just hope the vending machines don't give me the wrong drink like the Pepsi machine where I live. "I asked for friggen Pepsi, not Diet Dr. pepper!"

I live in PA and this sucks basically fascism at its best. Oh yeah no beer in stores but you can get smashed on wine really nice work Ed Rendell (~worst governor ever). Also what happens if someone moves air with a piece of cardboard (instead of breathing), i can see this going badly really soon, when it comes down to it human interaction is the best DUI detector.

And I thought CA was a ******** nanny state. PA ftl.

Wait what? I love self-checkout lanes and they're all over around here. Granted, I don't shop at wal-mart so I wouldn't know for sure.

hmm i don't get it my after-work is like Buy beer > get home > get drunk, Who's going to the store drunk to buy more booze?

Still the store is much better with bigger selections and sales and deals, i like my local store

Agreed, so many people avoid them, so they are always quicker...

They need to simply rescind the old law disallowing the purchase of spirits at grocery stores/convenience stores. I grew up in PA, and the laws are pretty annoying, liquor stores or bottle shops and bars are the only options. The problem with that is that they are not always open. They keep pretty tame hours. While there is a bit of nostalgia with regards to going to the liquor store, everything available and actually being able to shop, the convenience of being able to just pick something up on the way home trumps it by a long mile. It's really kind of antiquated, and the state could make more money than they do now if they changed the system...

I'm almost tempted to see if i look like my cousin according to the machine.

I wish other states made it that difficult to buy alcoholic beverages. Now if only all car companies and not just Saab could require a breathalyser test before allowing entry into a vehicle this might actually keep all of the drunk morons that intentionally harm people off the road. The excuse "I'm an alcoholic, I can't help it" is not an acceptable excuse for drunk driving or showing up to work drunk. The term alcoholic means that a person is lazy. Anyone can stop drinking if they really want to.

i am from europe, it's ridicoulous in our point of view. we have huge wine sections specially the french ofcause and we have not more alcohol related problems then the us , probaly less. usa, land of the free?

One up for the drunkards

@techguy378: you can require me to install a breathalyzer in my car the day you also require a reaction time test to start the car. Nothing's more annoying than being stuck behind a "safe" elderly driver who takes 2-3 SECONDS to react to the environment.

How can you call California a nanny state? You can buy liquor at pretty much any corner/convenience store, and as long as it's open, well, 2AM is the cut-off. I miss being able to go get a pint of something at the the corner store that was walking distance from my house.

Now in Oregon, you have to go to an ACTUAL liquor store, to buy liquor. And they all close between 8-10PM. Though, you can buy beer/wine at any grocery store.

Also, California has the best liquor store in the country, BevMo! If you ever have the pleasure of going in to a Beverages and More, you are in for a real treat Arizona also has a few in the Phoenix area.




Couldn't agree more with you. Because of your alcohol/drug laws, people are allowed to be themselves without fear of getting in trouble for it. Land of "Big Brother" who thinks they know whats best for us, but then go home and do the very same stuff they are "protecting" us from.

USA, land of the hypocritical.

Yes. It's specifically because of our draconian laws on alcohol that we have so much trouble here in the US. I mean, in the grand old US of A you can be shipped off to war and made to kill people and die for your country at the ripe old age of 17, but damned if you can smoke or drink at that age! Hell, you can't even VOTE, but you can take lives!

It's super-hypocritical.

Also, our history has really screwed things up. Prohibition in particular.

Just goes to show you how most conservative values end up hurting more than they help.

I think it varies, negative thoughts and reasons (real or not) are there, but it seems it was intended not to be based on those. instead promoting the better part of drinking wine and access it from the store. You might lose the pick it up bottle look it and check thing, but you might pick up the responsible part of drinking rather in good times or bad. Which in itself would probably be very testy with people. Cause about anywhere if your too drunk or intoxicated to take alcohol up places mention it. But it varies.
With that you gotta ask yourself how sensitive is the machine and will there always be someone on duty to work it?

It might just keep a few people off the road that shouldnt be, but then cause a few people to have scene before they get to a party or something too. People will still find ways around but the measures will be there.
So enjoy when you can!

The reasons PA doesn't allow beer to be sold in grocery stores and this is OK is that in PA the liquor stores (which don't sell beer) are run by the state. Providing these machines in more convenient places such as a grocery store makes more money for the state. I live in PA and there have been times where I wanted alcohol but going to a liquor store was inconvenient so I went to a distributer and got beer instead.

Hopefully they'll put these in 24 hour grocery stores. Your party runs out of booze at 2AM send one of the designated drivers to the grocery store for some wine; party saved!

Can of air can defeat the breath test.

This machine does seem stupid and cumbersome. I'd rather buy from a traditional store where I can physically pick up the bottles, read the labels, etc.

at least in Texas, you can sell wine/beer in groceries (including walmart) and convienience stores. We don't need an expensive and complicated machine to get us the wine--we just take it off the shelf ourselves! I'm many other states are the same, too.

In BC I have to go to a government liquor store or a government-licensed private liquor store. I wish I can simply buy them at the supermarket..

If outlawing alcohol won't work then making it more difficult to get probably will. Nobody needs alcoholic beverages. They have no nutritional value. Any claims to the contrary are false.

Living in Denmark this seems like overkill - this systems seems to assume that you are not fit to decide whether or not you should drink AND that the clerk at the supermarket is not capable of identifying if you are above legal drinking age.. Seriously, I buy alcohol drunk - don't be a buzzkill!

The Wine Nazi. "No wine for you!!!"

The alcohol laws are really annoying in PA. Up until this year, only restaurants/ bars, beer distributors, and liquor stores had alcohol that you could purchase. Also, you could only buy beer in cases from a beer distributor. You could not buy a six-pack unless you went to a restaurant/ bar that had six packs for sale, which aren't too plentiful in the state. The first grocery store in PA I've ever seen that has beer is a brand-new Giant Eagle Market District in Pittsburgh.

Laws about the sale of alcoholic beverages are one thing, but when you start seeing the product change (3-2 beer anyone?), that's really a problem IMO.