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The court found that regulating home alcohol stills is not one of the enumerated powers given to the government. At https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.384014/gov.uscourts.txnd.384014.49.0.pdf UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS FORT WORTH DIVISION

Interesting that almost every homebrewer can tell you when homebrewing was once again legalized. Through the efforts of Senator Alan Cranston from California, President Jimmy Carter signed a bill in 1978 that brought legal status to homebrewing in 1979, most homebrewers are unaware of the particulars that ended homebrewing during Prohibition. In actuality, however, it was not homebrewing per se that was criminalized, it was the way that malt syrup (extract) could be labeled and advertised that was altered…

The 6th Circuit upheld that 158-year-old law, while the 5th Circuit concluded it could not be justified as a revenue measure. If you search for "home still" on Amazon, you will see a wide variety of contraptions designed to separate and concentrate a liquid mixture's most volatile components. Many of them are explicitly advertised as appliances designed to produce alcoholic beverages such as whiskey, brandy, gin, and vodka. But if you bought one of those products with the intent to use it for that purpose, you would be committing a federal felony. The federal ban on home production of distilled...

The decision challenges a Reconstruction-era law originally intended to prevent Americans from evading federal liquor taxes.A federal appeals court struck down a longstanding ban on home distilling, ruling that it does not effectively support tax collection and is therefore unconstitutional. While home production of beer and wine has long been legal, distilling spirits at home has been prohibited since 1868, with penalties including prison time and fines. The ruling does not immediately legalize home distilling nationwide, as state laws still apply and the federal government may appeal to the Supreme Court. A federal appeals court just handed a major win...

A federal judge in Texas has ruled that a 156-year-old ban on at-home distilling is unconstitutional, siding with a group that advocates for legalizing the ability of people to produce spirits like whiskey and bourbon for their personal consumption. U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, an appointee of Republican former President Donald Trump in Fort Worth, on Wednesday agreed with, opens new tab the Hobby Distillers Association's lawyers that the longstanding ban exceeded Congress's taxing power and ran afoul of the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause.

A federal judge in Texas has ruled that an 1868 ban on at-home distilling is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, in his ruling on Wednesday, sided with the Hobby Distillers Association’s lawyers that the 156-year-old ban exceeded Congress’s taxing power and violated the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause. The Hobby Distillers Association is a group that advocates legalizing a person’s production of spirits such as whiskey and bourbon for their personal consumption. “Indeed, the Constitution is written to prevent societal amnesia of the defined limits it places on this government of and by the people,” Pittman wrote. “That is where...

Treating home distilling as illegal makes little sense, given that homebrewing and wine making have been legal at the federal level since 1978. In the aftermath of its failure to pass a health-care overhaul, Congress appears poised to turn to tax reform. While income and corporate tax rates will likely garner most of the attention, alcohol producers are also hoping for changes to booze taxes. Specifically, brewer, vintners, and distillers have been pushing on Capitol Hill for the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act, which would lower federal excise taxes on alcohol. Despite attracting nearly 300 co-sponsors in the...

A U.S. appeals court on Friday declared unconstitutional a nearly 158-year-old federal ban on home distilling, calling it an unnecessary and improper means for ​Congress to exercise its power to tax. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of ‌Appeals in New Orleans ruled in favor of the nonprofit Hobby Distillers Association and four of its 1,300 members. They argued that people should be free to distill spirits at home, whether as ​a hobby or for personal consumption including, in one instance, to create ​an apple-pie-vodka recipe. The ban was part of a law passed during ⁠Reconstruction in July 1868, in part...

The AFP reports that a 600-year-old grape seed recovered from a medieval waste pit in northern France is genetically identical to grapes used today to make pinot noir wine. A team of researchers led by Ludovic Orlando of the French National Center for Scientific Research sequenced the genomes of 54 grape seeds dating from about 2300 B.C. to the medieval period. The oldest grapes in the study were found to have come from wild vines. The scientists determined that early farmers began using clonal propagation techniques as early as 625 to 500 B.C., when domesticated grapevines were grown in southern...

According to a Gizmodo report, analysis of residue samples taken from an incense burner previously unearthed near Pompeii has identified an offering used in ancient Rome. "We've long known from ancient writers that the Romans burnt frankincense in their sacrifices," said Johannes Eber of the University of Zurich. "Preserved ashes and traces of fragrant resins from a domestic shrine near Pompeii provides tangible proof and a striking reminder of just how globalized the ancient world truly was," he added. The terracotta censer, decorated with an appliqué of a reclining woman, came from a domestic shrine at a rural villa north...

Gallo, a major wine manufacturer, announced the closure of a large Napa Valley production facility and the elimination of nearly 100 jobs across Napa and Sonoma counties — a stark sign of the shifting landscape around alcohol consumption in America. Considered the worlds largest winemaker by volume, Gallo filed a “warning” notice with the California Employment Development Department on Feb. 12, confirming it will permanently pull the cork on The Ranch Winery in St. Helena. The closure will leave 56 workers high and dry by April 15. Gallo is also slashing staff at some of its other prestigious labels, including...

The team carefully examined the liquid’s appearance and color before opening it up. Finding that the cork had a slight vinegary smell, they began extracting the liquid to determine the type of alcohol. “We weren’t sure if it was clear spirit, if it was aged spirit, if it was beer, if it was wine, if it was champagne,” Winter said. To minimize disturbance, the group used a Coravin device, which allows liquid to be extracted without fully removing the cork. When the bottle was opened, the team took careful note of its smell. Tara Lindley, director of sensory and product...

American Whiskey Association President and CEO Michael Bilello joins 'Mornings with Maria' to discuss how tariffs and shifting consumer trends are impacting U.S. whiskey exports. 'American Whiskey will go global': CEO defies tariffs, bets on worldwide growth | 5:08 Fox Business Clips | 45K subscribers | 3,421 views | October 20, 2025

The newly developed Muscat Shiragai grape offers a sweet, smooth flavor with a subtle Muscat aroma. Credit: Okayama University of Science ============================================================================= A team from Okayama University of Science has developed a new wine grape variety, “Muscat Shiragai.” A team of researchers led by Professor Emeritus Takuji Hoshino at Okayama University of Science (OUS) has developed a new wine grape variety called “Muscat Shiragai.” The grape was produced by crossing the wild Shiraga grape, which naturally grows only along the Takahashi River basin in Okayama Prefecture, with the well-known Muscat of Alexandria. The group has submitted the new variety for...

Research into grape pips found from an excavated Byzantine monastery in Israel hints at the origins of the ‘mysterious’ Gaza wine and the history of grapevine cultivation in desert conditions. The pips from settlements in Israel’s Negev desert - one of which was dated to the 8th century - were likely from a white grape, and is potentially the earliest of its kind documented anywhere in the world. It is thought it could be linked to the sweet white wine - the Gaza wine - that archaeologists have seen references to in historical records, but a lack of evidence of...

In a major archaeological breakthrough, researchers have identified the earliest known use of hydraulic lime plaster in Phoenician architecture -- crafted not from volcanic ash like Roman concrete, but using recycled ceramic pottery. This discovery, made at the Iron Age site of Tell el-Burak in southern Lebanon, sheds light on ancient sustainability practices and high-level engineering previously unattributed to the Phoenicians.The findings, published in Scientific Reports (2025), come from a multidisciplinary study of plaster samples collected from three installations, including a well-preserved wine press dating to ca. 725–600 BCE.Ancient Wine Infrastructure Built with Recycled PotteryLocated just 9 km south of...

Long before bourbon dominated the liquor market, rye whiskey reigned supreme. Now, a Midwestern distiller is teaming up with scientists to bring back a long-gone type of grain and turn it into spicy, bold whiskey. The source is a wooden schooner named the James R. Bentley that's been sitting in Lake Huron for nearly 150 years. The ship sank in Nov. 1878 after striking a shoal.

What does it really mean to have German ancestry? If you’ve taken a DNA test and seen the "Germanic" label, your story is far richer, older, and more dynamic than any single result. Groundbreaking genetic research reveals that Germans descend from a tapestry of Ice Age hunters, early farmers, horse-riding steppe migrants, Celtic warriors, and global travelers. Each left its enduring mark, blending survival, innovation, and migration into the DNA of modern Germans. Why German Genetic Origins is Different | 22:17 Evo Inception | 52.4K subscribers | 47,642 views | July 18, 202500:00 – Introduction: Beyond the "Germanic" Label 00:21...

Alcohol may have done more than just fuel celebrations in ancient societies. A study led by Václav Hrnčíř from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology suggests that indigenous fermented drinks helped ancient societies grow in size and complexity. The study, published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, draws a link between alcohol and the rise of structured governance. Researchers analyzed data from 186 traditional societies worldwide. They found that communities producing their own alcoholic drinks, like fruit wines or cereal beers, often showed higher levels of political organization. The team focused on societies that existed before industrialization and widespread...

Our study explored the evolutionary trajectory of grapevine cultivation in Italy through the analysis of archaeological grape pips spanning approximately 7,000 years...During the Early Neolithic and Early Bronze Age periods, the absence of morphologically domestic grapes suggests a reliance on wild grape gathering, possibly with some experiment of proto-cultivation of wild grape.Despite previous research showing the presence of domestic grapes in Middle Bronze Age sites such as Pertosa Cave in southern Italy and Sa Osa in Sardinia, our study of grape pips from several other sites do not reveal robust evidence for domestic grapes in Middle Bronze Age sites in...