"we support regulations that will help protect our ability to stop dangerous products from reaching consumers and alcohol from falling into the hands of minors, both of which are the driving force behind HB 6644."Mike Lashbrook, President, Michigan Beer & Wine Wholesales Association What we have here is a classic bit of deception of the type we've seen surround the issue of direct shipping for 20 years. HB 6644 would remove the current right of Michigan retailers to ship wine…
The 75th Anniversary of the Ratification of the 21st Amendment (the end of Prohibition) arrives on December 5th. Guess who's celebrating the hardest? Yes, America's alcohol wholesalers and they are celebrating the end of Prohibition not because it allowed them to open their doors and start businesses. They are celebrating for the reason laid out so clearly by Tony Mauro, writing for Law.com: "the 21st Amendment led to creation of the three-tier (producers, wholesalers, retailers) state-regulated system for purveying wine,…
Yesterday a Federal Court judge in Massachusetts ruled that wine wholesaler-inspired, anti-consumer, discriminatory laws that seek to protect a very tiny cabal of powerful and well monied wine wholesalers is unconstitutional. How do you like that? I do! The decision in the case of Family Winemakers of California v. Jenkins determined that a MA direct shipping law that was designed to appear even handed but was meant to exclude most out-of-state wineries from shipping into the state did not meet…
A few notes from my current sojourn in Chicago… Note #1: Illinois Wine Consumers RockIllinoisans tend, in general, to appreciate, be connected to and understand politics better than other city dwellers. This was most certainly brought home to me as I've met a number of wine-loving Illinoisans who are not only irked by their recently reduced access to wine in the state, but seem to understand the nuances of why they were stripped of their access to wine recently. And…
