Archive for the ‘Wine Legal Battles’ Category
Distributor consolidation in the wine industry —such as the latest between Republic-National and Breakthru — is beneficial to consumers who like their wine wet and with alcohol. This is the majority of wine made and sold. However, it comes at a price for those consumers who these two distributors care nothing about and generally despises: consumers who want a wine that is interesting, innovative, well-made, authentic or simply really good. But consider this little economic innovation: today two wholesale wine companies…
After more than 25 years in the wine business, very little shocks me. However, I’m still flabbergasted when I witness a willingness among some to knowingly say the stupidest things. The wine wholesalers have been on a roll this week. In an article in the New York Times investigating the circumstances concerning wine retailers being able to only ship wine to 14 states, the following was said by Craig Wolf, the head of the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers Association…and it was…
The announcement yesterday that Amazon was shutting down its Amazon Wine marketplace on December 31 was no surprise. With its purchase of hundreds of retailer licenses via its Whole Foods purchase it would out of compliance with tied house laws of numerous states, including California. A retailer, according to CA alcohol beverage law, may not accept payment from producers for advertising and this is exactly what Amazon was doing with its Amazon Wine site. The question is will Wine Woot…
A little bit of hell broke loose in Napa Valley recently. And the devil still seems to be on the loose. In 2016 a group of “environmentalists” who seem to be bent on rolling back the wine industry in the Valley gathered enough signatures to put an “Oak Woodlands Preservation” initiative on the local ballot. It was an onerous piece of legislation that would have essentially removed property owners’ rights to plant new vineyards in the Valley because five-inch wide…
It’s sheer arrogance….and an abdication of the responsibility to make an argument. At a recent conference for alcohol beverage attorneys held in Portland earlier this month, a discussion ensued concerning Franchise Laws. Franchise laws generally state that once a producer of alcohol chooses a distributor in a given state, they may not remove themselves from that relationship no matter how incompetent the wholesaler and even if the wholesaler is sold to another wholesaler. They amount to protection for alcohol wholesalers…
