It came as rather a surprise to the Alexandria location of La Tasca when they were cited last year for serving… sangria. Virginia outlawed the serving of beverages that mix beer or wine with spirits 75 years ago, and upon being informed of the La Tasca citation, Jaleo changed its sangria recipe as well for their Virginia location.
Always with thorough coverage of all things alcohol-related, the City Paper has more details on the particular obscurity of Virginia’s ABC laws.
The most amusing detail in all of this, though, is not that a bunch of old fogeys decided to clamp down on liquor sales right after the repeal of Prohibition, but that the bill introduced by state Representative Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) would introduce an exemption for sangria only, rather than repealing the ban completely. So maybe you’ll get your sangria, but your Kir Royale is totally out of the question.
Who knew I was practicing civil disobedience with all that sangria I made this summer?
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
Tiffany Baxendell Bridge is an Internet enthusiast and an incurable smartass. When not heckling the neighborhood political scene on Twitter, she can be found goofing off with her ukulele, Bollywood dancing, or obsessing about cult TV. She is That Woman With the Baby In the Bar.
Tiffany lives in Brookland with her husband Tom, son Charlie, and two high-maintenance cats. Read why Tiffany loves DC.
