Archive for January, 2006
Colorado bill passes House Finance Committee
January 28th, 2006
In their effort to become compliant with the Granholm decision, Colorado introduced a limited direct bill that would ease restrictions on shipping wine. Currently, consumers in Colorado can not make offsite purchases from wineries unless they have visited that winery in the past. The new legislation would remove this previous visit requirement.
Kansas revisits wine shipping laws
January 25th, 2006
A pending bill in the Kansas Legislature would prohibit the direct shipment of wine to consumers altogether. Currently, Kansas in-state wineries can sell directly to consumers, but out-of-state wineries are required to use the three-tier system. This uneven treatment was deemed unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in May 2005. As a result of the ruling, states can essentially either allow direct shipments from all US wineries or prohibit all direct shipments. So far, Kansas seems to be leaning towards prohibition.
Romney introduces new bill
January 18th, 2006
After vetoing a bill passed by the Massachusetts House and Senate in January, Governer Milt Romney introduced his own bill that would allow for “unrestricted wine sales” while providing mechansims for preventing the sale of wine to minors.
Proposed legislation in Illinois would limit off-site sales
January 17th, 2006
Following up on our previous post, small wineries are once again crying foul in Illinois over legislation introduced by the Illinois distributor lobby. The bill would require an initial on-site purchase before off-site sales can be made and would establish a customer aggregate volume limit of two cases per year. Illinois wineries are taking issue with both the previous visit requirement as well as the customer aggregate volume limit. Fred Koehler, president of Lynfred Winery calls the two case limit “ridiculous” and estimates that they could lose up to 15-20 percent of revenues under the bill.
Let the wine flow in Illinois
January 15th, 2006
Editorial from the Chicago Tribune:
If lawmakers are going to get back in the wine game, they should promote competition and protect consumers from unnecessary middlemen and their markups. Otherwise, stay out.
Ohio opponents “just want to protect their monopolies”
January 15th, 2006
Here’s a good update on the legislation process in Ohio from Mark Fisher.
Indiana wholesalers attempt to buy the vote
January 15th, 2006
The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of Indiana Political Action Committee gave over $180,000 between 2000 and 2004 to Indiana politicians and candidates. The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette explains why there is no wonder that favorable legislation was introduced there. It is no secret that the wine wholesalers and distributors wield tremendous power in every state. Michigan wholesalers spent $238,000 in their wine shipping battle and also let Michigan lawmakers “use their party room to raise another $440,000″.
IBG Announces REThink Wine Trade
January 11th, 2006
Inertia Beverage Group announced today a new program called REThink Wine Trade. The program would give restaurants a means to place wholesale orders directly with producers.
This is an interesting concept. “Direct to the trade” compliance will certainly be a challenge for IBG. However, this once again gets back to the theme discussed by FTC Commissioner John Leibowitz that the current wine distribution sytem is “the most expensive distribution system of any U.S. packaged goods industry by far.” We are witnessing creative attempts to bypass the middleman, and these attempts will likely lead to better access to markets for small wineries that can not afford to see their profits eroded by wholesalers and more choices for consumers in the long run.
Wine shipping fight begins in Illinois
January 8th, 2006
Sound familiar? The Associated Beer Distributors of Illinois are pushing for a bill in Illinois that would prohibit direct shipments. Illinois wineries are crying foul and pushing their own counter-legislation. This will be interesting to watch as Chicago is a large wine market.
Proposal from Virginia wineries might not make it out of committee
January 7th, 2006
From the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
The House ABC and Gaming subcommittee voted 4-1 to recommend that the General Laws Committee kill a bill that would preserve the right of small Virginia wineries to distribute their products to restaurants and stores.
Costco case could set precedent for Arizona
January 3rd, 2006
Interesting editorial explaining why Arizona is watching the Costco case in Washington closely.
Delaware lawyer and Pennsylvania winery sue over wine law
January 2nd, 2006
A federal lawsuit seeks to ease the direct shipping restrictions in Delaware. Currently, Delaware prohibits out of state wineries from shipping directly to consumers.
New California laws take effect today
January 1st, 2006
California officially moves to a limited direct model for interstate wine shipping today. Out-of-state wineries will be required to obtain a Type 82 permit from the California ABC for $10 annually and a Certificate of Use Tax from the California Board of Equalization.
