Archive for the ‘Shipping Wine’ Category
What lies and fallacies lie ahead in the effort to prevent America's beer wholesalers from passing HR 1161 and keeping craft beers, wines and a spirits out of consumer hands? This one: "the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution created a state-based system of alcohol regulation that effectively balances local community control, tough consumer protections as well as choice and variety." This particular lie is told by the National Beer Wholesalers Association in their press release applauding the introduction of…
Now alcohol wholesalers aren't content with working as hard as they can to keep you from the wines you want. They don't just want to slap down free trade. Now they want to slap down Free Speech. The National Beer Wholesalers Association, the middle men behind the Wholesaler Protection Act (HR 1161), have squatted on the following domain names: StopHR1161.orgStopHR1161.comKillHR1161.orgKillHr1161.com Last year after HR 5034 (the predecessor to HR 1161) was introduced, the Specialty Wine Retailers Association decided they would…
As promised, America's beer and wine wholesalers have again convinced a congressman to introduce what can only be called the "Wholesaler Protection Act". What was hr 5034 last year is now HR 1161. Representative Jason Chaffetz (R) from Utah is the main sponsor. HR 1161 is identical to the second version of last year's bill. If passed, HR 1161 would give states complete protection from legal challenges if they pass laws that: -Discriminate against out-of-state retailers from shipping wine into…
I've watched a lot of legislatures debate direct shipping policy and watched many lawmakers give in to special interests over and over. However, I've never seen lawmakers so blatantly be bought off by local special interests at the expense of consumers, state tax revenue and free trade like has recently happened in Maryland. I listened to Senator Joan Carter Conway— who chaired the Maryland committee that gets to hear testimony on alcohol policy—in both a private meeting with stakeholders that…
On more than one occasion, when I've pitched stories to a member of the media concerning direct shipping or wine politics, I've found myself spending the majority of the time with a writer explaining to them what the "three tier system" is. That the writer understand this contraption built of early 20th Century concerns is crucial to any discussion of the politics of wine. What confuses and gets the writer stuck is the notion of mandated relationships between the tiers….
