1WineDude :: Serious wine talk for the not-so-serious drinker!: wine laws

Here's a little quiz for all of you out there in wine-land. What do you call a government that:

Limits the choices of products available to its citizens by offering them only via government-run monopoly that has no incentive to provide competitive prices, good customer service, or expanded selection;
Charges its citizens a premium for the "privilege" of the products limited choices & poor service, including taxation on goods already controlled by the government;
Refuses to change archaic legislation that was enacted over 50 years ago, in order to protect its monopoly position & profits;
Does nothing to alter its stance or comply with changing federal law, nearly three years after its current legislation has been deemed unconstitutional at both the federal and regional levels?

In most circles, the first two points could be considered Communism.

Technically, the later two points aren't Communism, but I'd like to think that most people would at least consider them reprehensible...

Unfortunately, what I've described above is more-or-less what the state of Pennsylvania is doing in its wine trade, which is controlled by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, right here in the good ol' U.S. of A.

Bucking the Law Means Big $$$ for States
Actually, now that I consider it, I haven't been entirely honest with you so far. Since the Federal government ruled that PA's liquor laws banning interstate trade were unconstitutional in 2005, the PLCB has done something. It's made money. Approximately $3 billion dollars in sales (that's Billion, with a "B"), in fact. That is roughly twice the GDP of the country of Liberia.

That's big, big money. In the case of the PLCB, it's record-setting sales money, all achieved while operating what has been determined an unconstitutional system.

This is not just impacting PA wine lovers (& wineries) - similar situations are playing out in other states. The ones who benefit are the middle-men (distributors and state governments). The ones who get the short end of the stick? That's you & me, baby (and the people making our favorite beverages!).

Distributors are - not surprisingly - paying big money to protect this windfall. What is surprising is that those same groups are claiming that money is not the motivator in their efforts to protect the "three tier system" of wine shipping. $3 billion in 2 years, seemingly operating unconstitutionally, and it's not about the money?!?? I don't know how they can even say that with a straight face...

Whether You Know it or Not, You're Being Taken for a Ride

If you live in one of the States that prohibits (or seriously discourages) direct shipping of wine, and you buy wine, then you're getting screwed. Your wine choices are probably limited. You might have little (if any) recourse to purchase the wines that you want. And likely, you're paying too much for the wines that you are able to get.

What You Can Do About It
Big money issues like this one will not go away on their own. They require that wine consumers who want a fair deal - people like you (and me) - fight back:

Visit the Shipment Compliant blog to find out where your state stands, and to catch the latest news in the fight for fair wine shipping for your state.
If you have a blog or website, read Tom Wark's posts on fighting back and link to support Wine Without Borders.
Visit (and support) FreeTheGrapes.org.
Write to your state legislators and let 'em know how you feel! I have (many times) - and trust me, some of them will respond!

Read the full article...

You may not guess it from the sky-high prices of the top Bordeaux chateaus (some fetching in excess of $1000 USD per bottle - and presumably on allocation to those who can afford their own islands), but the European wine market has been in trouble for a few years.

With labels that many international consumers find confusing, and laws that restrict varietals, winemaking conditions, grape production, and dictate what techniques can be used by winemakers, EU (aka "Old World") producers have been searching for the magic formula that will allow them to better compete with their "New World" counterparts...

While many producers in the EU have strong 'brands' (mostly linked to the most famous of their chateaus), countries like the United States, Australia, Chile, and Canada have stronger marketing, cheaper land, and encourage more innovative vineyard and winemaking practices by having far fewer restrictions on their production. Which is why, in the cheaper wine department, these countries are taking the traditional EU wine countries to the cleaners in the marketplace - and cheaper, everyday wine is, by far, the largest volume of wine produced and sold in the world today. And now EU producers are getting handed their lunch as wine sales of producers in their own countries are falling as the onslaught of New World wine marketing hits their shores.

The stakes are not insignificant - wine has accounted for over 5% of the EU's agricultural output, employing about 1.5 million people.

So, what can the EU do about it? Presumably, they can argue. EU farm ministers have proposed some progressive steps, but some countries still don't want to play ball, and are stymieing the process. Which is a shame - those countries may wine the battle, but without some sort of compromise, can the EU hope to wine the wine War?

Updated Dec. 19 - Looks like the answer may be 'Yes' - see more details in the news here.