The wine wholesalers in Michigan are concerned. VERY VERY concerned. According to the Michigan Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association as presented in a breathless editorial in The Detroit News, “It’s estimated that…more than 730,000 bottles of wine, were illegally shipped into the state” in 2019.” Of course, we can’t verify this claim as the data they base it upon is not published by the wholesalers. No matter. According to this association of box carriers, this profoundly important discovery “robs Michigan…
The wine and alcohol industries are unique. They operate within a highly regulated meliu that other industries would find jarring and alien. As a result, it’s often the case that the controversies that surround alcohol are very specific to the industry. The shoe industry or the snack food industry would, for example, find no context for understanding a ban on their products being shipped across state lines, whereas within the alcohol industry such restrictions are common place. But sometimes, the…
What if drinking wine, even lots of it, didn’t get you drunk? Why consider this…? “Alcohol goes to your head and causes drunken behaviour through the breakdown of chemicals produced in the brain, a new study reveals. The finding turns previous theories that it was linked to the liver upside down, and scientists believe it holds the key to combating binge drinking and alcoholism. Researchers from National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism tested the impact of alcohol on chemicals…
If you considered the state-by-state effort to legalize retailer interstate shipment of wine as a war (which I often do), you could say that at this moment the opposing forces are in course of carrying out maneuvers. Jockeying for advantage. There is a good deal of behind-the-scenes moves being made at the moment. This update on the state of retailer interstate shipment will attempt to illuminate the various efforts. THE COMBATANTS Those working to open up states’ borders to shipments…
I spent a good two and a half hours yesterday speaking to a nice sized collection of wine industry members about the Three-Tier System on the newish social media platform Clubhouse. In the Clubhouse room “The Business of Booze”, created and moderated by Bulgarian wine importer Robert Hayk of G & B Importers, upwards of 70 or so producers, importers, communicators, retailers and media undertook an examination of the predominant system of alcohol regulation in the United States. It was…
