"If a small winery has a market, why on Earth would a wholesaler not want to sell your wine?"KAREN GRAVOIS-ELLIOTVP Communications, Wine & Spirit Wholesalers Association I usually don’t get offended by PR people are lambasted or ridiculed. But sometimes, my own people embarass me so much I just want to cry. Thanks for giving me a good cry Ms. Gravois Elliot. —————————- The Wine & Spirit Wholesalers Association support a proposal in Virginia that would close off Virginia wineries’…

Just look at this statement from Illinois’s Fox Creek Winery president Gordon Schnepper found in an article by Mary McGlasson in the Olney Daily Mail“The very simple understanding, I think, is that during Prohibition, the people that made real money were distributors or rum runners, and once it became legal, these guys didn’t just quit and go home – they bought licenses,” Schnepper said. “And they’re still fighting to protect their territory.” I guess the gloves are off. The battle…

A simple question: A number of states across the country are in the process of prohibiting their in-state wineries from being able to sell directly to retailers and restaurateurs, a privilege they have usually enjoyed for some time. If wineries are forced to go through a distributor to sell to restaurants and retailers, shouldn’t the state also force the wholesalers to represent any winery that wants representation? Your thoughts and and comments are encouraged..

How it works in Indiana: 1. Law in place that allows Indiana Wineries to sell to retailers and direct to consumers. 2. Supreme Court Rules discrimination in Direct to Consumer sales is unconstitutional 3. Bill Introduced to allow wineries in-state and out of state to ship direct to consumers 4. Indiana Wine wholesalers give $181,000 to Indiana Legislators 5. Bill Amended to outlaw sales from wineries to retailers and to make it near impossible to ship to consumers RESULT: Minors…