Archive for the ‘Wine Legal Battles’ Category
"The neutralization of the 70 grapevines was an act of civil disobedience, which is a legitimate expression when the powerful impose on the population something it has largely disowned." —Jean-Pierre Frick, French punk— Note to Monsieur Frick: It's not "Civil Disobedience" if you know you won't get punished. It's Hooliganism. Ben O'Donnell at the Winespectator.com reports on another act of hooliganism by a group of French assholes that has resulted in the destruction of an experimental that is looking at…
On September 3rd an important court ruling emerged out of a Federal Court in Illinois in the Case of Anheuser Busch v. Schnorf (Download Illinois ruling). The ruling reiterated a holding implied in the Granholm v. Heald Supreme Court case and made explicit in the Costco v. Hoen case: States may not bar out-of-state alcohol producers from selling directly to retailers and restaurants if the same states allows its resident producers to sell to in-state retailers and restaurants. The case…
The upcoming November 2nd election is among the most important for the American wine industry in a very long time. Two issues should be watched closely by the wine, beer and spirits industry: 1) the outcome of the race for control of the House of Representatives and 2) the outcome of Initiative 1100 in Washington State. CONTROL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES & H.R. 5034Despite the 137 Co-sponsors of the Wholesaler Protection Bill known as H.R. 5034, the beer and…
I was disappointed, though not surprised, to see that today a conjunctive labeling law dictating that "Sonoma County" be placed on every label on wines produced from grapes grown in Sonoma County was unanimously passed by the California Legislature . Pushed as an effort to promote "Sonoma County" wines and a consumer education effort, the new law instead forces vintners to needlessly sully their package and undermines their own marketing efforts. Yet, the law does nothing to educate consumers. Passed…
The embarrassment I feel when I come across a long running editorial outlet that is both extremely well done and relatively unknown to me is palpable. I also get a bit angry with myself because I know now that had I been reading this editorial outlet I'd be a smarter person today. This is exactly how I feel about Jacob Grier's "Liquidity Preference", a blog that delves into "Cocktails, Coffee and Commentary". I've been reading through Jacob's work on this…
