Archive for the ‘Wine Consumers’ Category
One of the most conspicuous outcomes of the economic downturn that has effected the American economy and, with it, the American wine industry, is the "Flash Sale". These quick-turnaround sales of single wines at significant discounts have popped up across the web in different form and appear to have gained a significant following with wine lovers looking to cash in on great deals on wines of all sorts. The most recent entry into the "Flash Sale" category is "Deals From…
Washington State Initiative 1100 appears to have been defeated by a small margin. This is the initiative that would have reformed the Washington State alcohol regulatory system, getting the state out of the business of selling spirits, allowing self distribution for all forms of alcohol and reforming many of the restrictive laws that favored wholesalers. What's clear is that the three-tier system is responsible for defeating the Washington State effort to reform the three tier system. According to the Seattle…
I had the chance to meet with two pretty impressive wine minds this morning and an interesting topic emerged: How will the wine media in America portray the 2010 harvest/vintage in California/Napa/Sonoma? Will they take the proper perspective, talk to numerous vintners and growers, take account of the different pace of ripenng for different varieties and give a balanced perspective? Or will they undertake to paint with a brush so broad that upon speaking with one grower who described a…
Did Washington State voters throw off the shackles of its antiquated three tier system or did they choose to remain tied to post-Prohibition era state stores and a three tier distribution system for liquor and regulations that put distributors in charge over all others? Answer: We don't know yet. Initiative 1100 in Washington State would get the State out of the business of selling spirits at state-run stores and put that job in the hands of the private sector. In…
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…
