ATLANTA — The Senate gave final legislative approval Monday to two House bills that would ease restrictions on shipping wine into and out of the state and allow Internet purchasing.

The approval comes after four years of failed bills seeking to reconcile Georgia’s wine shipping laws with a U.S. Supreme Court decision saying current laws discriminate in favor of in-state wine producers.

Georgians would be able to buy 12 cases over the Internet a year from any one winery, and wineries here would be able to ship directly to consumers in other states, under House Bill 1061, authored by Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah. Online accounts would be set up with restrictions on age, verified by a third-party system with an adult’s signature required to accept the shipment.

Current state law prohibits out-of-state wineries from shipping directly to consumers, but in-state wineries can, a dichotomy the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional. Georgia wineries would be at a competitive disadvantage is current law isn’t changed

Farm-based wineries making wine with at least 40 percent Georgia-grown produce would be able to sell up to 24,000 gallons of wine – roughly 120,000 bottles – at wholesale inside the state if the winery first offers to sell its products through a wholesaler and gets rejected, under House Bill 393.

That bill, also authored by Stephens, allows such a winery to sell packaged wine and offer tastes at up to five wine-tasting sites.

Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, who sponsored the bills in the Senate, said the state’s small wineries, of which there are more than 20, could use the boost the bill gives.

It is a growing industry and one we need to promote for economic development," Unterman said.

Gov. Sonny Perdue, who can sign or veto the bills, has not expressed an opinion, said Marshall Guest of the governor’s press office.

Jake Armstrong can be reached at (404) 589-8424 or jake.armstrong@morris.com