Oct 28, 2010
On my Thursday mind… "It's like using an ATM"Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board spokesperson Stacy Witalec on the new "Wine Kiosks" spreading to various grocery stores in the state Well, not really, unless you have taken an automated breathalyzer test by blowing into the ATM prior to retrieving your 20s. The absurdity of the PA wine kiosks that force you to look through a little window at the wine bottle, stare into a camera, hope the person looking at your…
Oct 27, 2010
The battled over H.R. 5034, the bill in Congress being pushed exclusively by beer and wine middlemen, has resulted in some misconceptions and misunderstandings regarding the state of alcohol regulation in America, the meaning of the Constitution and just who is pushing for change. DEREGULATION vs. REFORMWholesalers have been consistent in their messaging over the past year or so. They argue that elements of the American alcohol industry want to "deregulate" the sale and distribution of alcohol and have wanted…
Oct 25, 2010
First things first: No, "Napa Valley" and "Sonoma County" and the "North Coast" can not together nor separately appropriately be described as singular weather zones. Put another way, grapes grown on the valley floor in the Yountville region of Napa and grapes grown near the top of Spring Mountain in Napa Valley are likely to have experienced differing weather conditions throughout the year. The same can be said for Alexander Valley and the Sonoma/Carneros region. That said, the harvest in…
Oct 19, 2010
In two weeks Washington State voters will decide the fate of the state's three tier system. This vote is the most consequential initiative concerning alcohol regulations any state in America has put to the voters many years. The money in opposition to what is called Initiative 1100 comes from beer and wine wholesalers…across the country, not merely in Washington State. Why do America's alcohol wholesalers oppose Initiative 1100? Very simply because it is an example of leveling the playing field…
Oct 18, 2010
Beer, spirits and wine compete with one another, as industries, for the nation's "Booze Market". What these three products have in common with one another are many. Fermentation. Alcohol as a component. Socializing as a byproduct. Differentiation based on taste. Highly regulated rules of sales, distribution and consumption. And…they also all have in common the primary effect of using them: inebriation. They are mind altering. So is Marijuana. And based on the polls I'm reading there is a high likelihood…