Archive for the ‘Wine Legal Battles’ Category
On November 8th in Washington State voters will weigh in on a very important ballot measure: Initiative-1183. Though Initiative 1183 will allow a variety of things, most importantly it would actually remove the state from the sale and distribution of spirits and allow retail outlets to purchase spirits directly from the spirit manufacturer as well as from private distributors. How do I know Initiative 1183 is a good thing? Because the Wine & Spirit Wholesalers of America have contributed nearly…
The Texas alcohol regulators happily report that they are successfully stopping Texas wine lovers from obtaining wines they can't find locally by ordering those wines from out of state wine stores. Meanwhile, over in New York, the local wine regulators in that state report that they generated $5 million in taxes and fees from $54 million in direct wine shipments from out of state wineries. What's interesting is that neither of these states collect taxes on, let alone legally allow,…
When an organization like the Wine & Spirit Wholesales of America (WSWA) for 20 years tell anyone who will listen that the direct shipment of wine will lead to minors getting drunk and dying, you can forgive their hyperbole because they are just watching out for the kids. But when they say this after years of evidence piliing up that their claim is unfounded, you have to question their sanity or their integrity. On the other hand, when the WSWA…
A "Blue Law" is a local civil law meant to enforce religious standards and principles. In the United States the most common form of the Blue Law is a legal prohibition on the sale of alcohol on Sunday, the Christian Sabbath. One usually finds such laws in the region of the U.S. called the Bible Belt…like Georgia. On November 8th more than 101 Georgia Municipalities will vote to determine whether to keep in place primarily one type of blue law…
If you see a disconnect between the picture on the left and the message superimposed upon it, the supporters of the Regulate Marijuana Like Wine initiative hope that disconnect will instead morph into a logical connection. The supporters of this initiative, who are in the process of trying to gather over 500,000 signatures and raise millions of dollars to put the marijuana decriminalization initiative on the ballot, are employing a fairly sophisticated messaging and branding campaign to help them. The…
