Wine Without Borders Is Coming
October 22, 2007 – 9:36 am
After searching high and low for that bottle of Australian Chardonnay you tasted when last in Australia, you find it. A wine merchant located outside your state who has an eclectic taste in Chards lists it on their website. Hallelujah! Upon clicking a few times you are ready to order when all of a sudden you get a message on the screen:
“Due to your state’s laws, we are prohibited from shipping wine to you.”
But you can order from wineries! And you can have wine shipped to you from a wine merchant in your own state. Why not from an out of state wine merchant?
The reason is simple: Wine distributors in your state have lobbied successfully to cut you off from wine simply so they can reduce competition they might otherwise have to face. What’s important is not the consumer. What’s important is that distributors protected their favored position in your state by convincing politicians to pass protectionist, unconstitutional laws that prohibit you from buying wine and make the wine you do have access to in your state even more expensive.
Specialty Wine Retailers Association is the only organization fighting this concerted effort across the nation by distributors to limit your access to wine and retailers’ access to the market.
This blog is part of that fight. You can expect:
-Updates on political action in various states
-Commentary on news
-Updates on legal battles concerning your right to buy wine
-Kudos to those who are involved in the effort
-Efforts to shine the light on and shame those who would try to take away your rights to simply buy wine.
We highly recommend your participation in this blog. What do you see happening in your state? Which retailers support your rights to obtain wine and our effort to create fair shipping laws? Let us know. Give us your thoughts.
We call this blog “Wine Without Borders” because we believe that retailers and consumers should have the right to do business with one another in a fair, legal, even regulated environment. SWRA does not seek unfettered shipping rights. SWRA believes that retailers should submit taxes to states where wine is shipped, that retailers should take efforts to assure the wine is not being obtained by minors and that retailers should be willing to submit to other states legal jurisdiction.
We also believe that protecting a small group of special interests by prohibiting retailers and consumers from doing business is wrong. We intend, with your help, to change that.
Tom Wark, Executive Director
Specialty Wine Retailers Association
7 Responses to “Wine Without Borders Is Coming”
sounds good to me
By johng on Oct 22, 2007
Excellent! I am opening up my own online retail wine store and need all the support I can get.
(Also, if you have the room - I would love a link on your blog roll.)
By Catie on Oct 24, 2007
I’m happy that you have started this blog.
The focus to date appears to have been on the retailers rather than the consumers. The more that we, the consumers, can be educated in easy-to-understand terminology on the very complex issues of inter-state shipping the better.
There are many more consumers than retailers and if our voice can be coordinated it will be powerful. I suspect that there is little disparity in consumer views on the right approach to shipping to consumers.
By Winevestor on Oct 24, 2007
Congratulations on the birth of Wine Without Borders. This is a good step toward solidifying public opinion. As a winery, we are grateful to enjoy some new shipping privileges, but I wish that the rights of retailers had been and will be represented as well. We want our retailers to also be able to get our wines to interested customers, and I see no reason why retailers should be restricted from direct shipping.
By Mary Baker on Oct 25, 2007
I think this is fantastic that you are compiling all this information. Its shocking that we are still dismantling leftovers from Prohibition. Its shocking to me that interstate commerence law doesnt’ just override this bs. Every american should have equal access to wines between states. You could actually argue the same thing for health insurance too.. but I digress.
I really appreciate your good work. If you’d like, check out my blog and see if you’d like to add it to your blog roll. I’ve added this site to my own blog roll hoping to highlight to readers the importance of this issue
By Amy on Oct 30, 2007
Reading purple on black is difficult although I have 20/20 vision. Can you make it easier to read? BL
By Bobbi Leonard on Nov 6, 2007