… at which point they found out they couldn’t import the stuff into Oklahoma at all. In the end they enlisted yet another lawyer who happened to own a wholesale distributor’s license in the state, labels were printed, the distributor registered the vintage and paid the taxes, the winery shipped the wine to his warehouse, and they all got their wine about six months after they started.

DC’s applicable code can be downloaded from the ABRA web site. I think direct shipment was, in fact, legal before the “Omnibus Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Act of 2008″ (its full name) was passed, but the quoted revision makes the permission explicit. The original § 25-772(b) read, “No public or common carrier shall transport or bring into the District wine, spirits, or beer in a quantity in excess of one case per location in any one calendar month for delivery to any one person in the District other than the licensee under a manufacturer’s, wholesaler’s, or retailer’s license.” There are some real goodies in the full Title 25, though, like this one:

§ 25-1009. Operation of locomotive, streetcar, elevator [emphasis added], or horse-drawn vehicle by
intoxicated person prohibited.
(a) No person shall be intoxicated while in charge of or operating a locomotive; acting as
a conductor or brakeman of a car or train of cars; or operating a streetcar, or horse-drawn
vehicle.
(b) A person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $300, or by imprisonment for
not longer than 3 months, or both.

Apparently if you live in a high-rise, you’re supposed to take the stairs when you’re drunk.