Archive for the ‘Three Tier System’ Category
“I am always surprised when individual wholesalers or their main trade and lobbying group, the Washington DC-based Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America [WSWA,] fails to chime in on key issues.” Liza Zimmerman, correspondent for Wine-Searcher I’m not. After all, when forced to respond to key issues to the wine and spirits industry, wholesalers are forced into a terrible situation: They either must tell the truth of their protectionist ideology (which never goes over well) or lie. That’s not a…
Since 2005 when the U.S Supreme Court ruled on the constitutionality of New York and Michigan’s discriminatory and protectionist bans on wine shipments from out-of-state wineries in Granholm v Heald, a certain legal and regulatory confusion ensued. The upcoming Supreme Court case being dubbed “Granholm II” is going to resolve that confusion. The new Supreme Court Case, Byrd v. Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Association, will do this by clarifying exactly what is “unquestionably legitimate” when it comes to the three-tier system….
In a recent interview with Liza Zimmerman at Wine Searcher, Rob Tobiassen, former Chief Attorney for the Federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, explains the benefits of the Three Tier System of Alcohol distribution. However, in the wide-ranging interview, Rob fails to point out one very important thing: the three-tier system of alcohol regulation is an extraordinarily archaic system of market regulation that has fallen under the control of a cabal of state-mandated and state-protected middlemen whose only interest is their…
In its fierce “determination to put an end to anti-competitive practices that hurt law-abiding businesses and prevent consumers from enjoying a wide selection of products” the TTB announced that it had levied punishment upon Napa Valley’s Modus Operandi Cellars. The crime? “Consignment sales of wine to wholesalers who were not obligated to pay for the wine until after it had been sold to retailers.” The Punishment: “A one day (emphasis added) suspension of its basic permit.” I’m not suggesting that Modus…
The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers Association (WSWA), whose values can be succinctly reduced to “what’s good for the consumers…just doesn’t matter” has a new CEO and president in the wake of former WSWA president Craig Wolf’s resignation and venture into electoral politics. Michelle Korsmo is the new head of the trade association that represents the interests of the wholesalers. It’s good to know that she is already on board with the program: “I am also inspired by the industry’s record of…
