May 1, 2005 12:00 PM, Patricia Odell

The Arizona state legislature has proposed a bill that would allow sampling of beer, distilled spirits and wine to customers shopping in grocery stores.

Under House Bill 2647, which includes other changes to the state's liquor laws, sampling must be conducted under the supervision of an employee, sponsor or wholesaler. Samples would be limited to three ounces of beer, 1.5 ounces of wine or one-half ounce of distilled spirits per person per day. Sampling would be limited to 12 days per year at any one retailer. And the producer must notify the state liquor department 10 days prior to such an event. At press time, the bill had passed the House and was in the Senate.

“If a producer or wholesaler is trying to retail a $50 bottle of wine, people might want to have a small sample before they buy it,” said Arizona state Rep. John McComish, one of 10 sponsors of the bill. “It isn't going to impair someone.”

The controversial liquor-sampling section of the wide-ranging bill had been proposed and rejected before. But with tighter controls written into this bill, McComish believes it will pass. The legislation marks the first major revision of the state's liquor laws in close to 10 years.

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