Archive for the ‘Wine Legal Battles’ Category
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), a branch of the federal Department of the Treasury that is tasked with, among other things, providing definitions of terms that appear on wine labels and in wine advertising, has asked for comments on the notion of defining specific terms. Those terms include: EstateEstatesEstate-GrownReserveOld VineBarrel FermentedProprietor's BlendSingle VineyardOld CloneVineyard SelectSelect HarvestBottle AgedBarrel Select Presumably, many wine trade organizations, individuals, consumers, lawyers, bloggers, writers and others will weigh in on what if…
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…
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…
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…
