Washington State Wine Shipping: A Post Mortem
February 14, 2008 – 10:08 amSpecialty Wine Retailers Association, wine merchants and many a wine lover had very high expectations for a very good piece of legislation that had been introduced in Washington State by Senator Brian Weinstein. SB 6384 would have created a permit issued by the the state of Washington to out-of-state retailers allow them to ship wine to consumers in the state just like out-of-state wineries receive such permits. The bill provided for taxes to be paid by out-of-state retailers, for retailers to submit to WA legal jurisdiction and for retailers to allow audits of their books by the State of Washington.
SB 6384 died in committee.
This was not for lack of consumer support. In fact, the chair of the committee in which the bill was heard noted publicly that she had received more positive email on this piece of legislation than on any other bill under consideration this year.
So why did SB 6384 die?
Washington Wineries had the bill killed. More specifically, it was the Washington Wine Institute that worked to kill the bill.
Intuitively, one understands that retailer shipping is good for Washington wineries. The more outlets there are to sell Washington wines, the more Washington wine that gets sold.
Nevertheless, the Washington Wine Institute did everything they could to kill Washington wine lovers’ access to wine.
The reason, according to insiders, is the issue of reciprocity. Apparently the WA wine institute does not like the fact that there is no law in CA that allows Washington retailers to ship to CA consumers. Furthermore, it appear that the WA wine institute does not like the fact that CA, like Washington, does not allow CA retailers to buy direct from out-of-state wineries. This was enough for the WA Wine Institute to stick it to Washington consumers.
Yet, consider that CA retailers spent very good money, time and effort working out an agreement with the state of CA that has been in place for over a year and runs through the end of this year that assures the state of CA will not enforce any laws against out-of-state retailers shipping into CA. This fact however wasn’t enough to overcome the pettiness that exists inside the Washington Wine Institute.
Nor was the fact that Washington is clearly out of compliance with the U.S. Constitution when since it discriminates against out-of-state retailers since it allows its own retailers to ship to Washingtonians but prohibits out of state retailers from doing the same. The least we can say is that principles are not taken in to consideration when WA Wine Institute politics are in play.
It should also be known that a good many consumers and companies worked hard to educate everyone involved in this bill. SWRA spoke with every member of the committee involved in passing this legislation and/or their representatives. Wine.com worked tirelessly to try to get this bill passed. The CA Wine Institute worked hard on passing this bill. As did Costco. And, again, WA consumers weighed in on this bill in droves, supporting it wholeheartedly.
The lessons of SB 6384 are clear:
1. Never assume wineries have the best interests of consumers at heart when it comes to access to wine
2. Only progressive retailers can be counted on to always support the interests of wine lovers
3. Forcing litigation, that will cost the state and citizens of WA and other states hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars is preferred by pettier folks to doing the right thing.
A great deal of late has been said of retailers shipping into Washington State. This bill would have allowed consumers to obtain the wines they obviously want, provide the state with needed revenue and put the state back in compliance with the U.S. Constitution. But instead, pettiness wins out over common sense.
Anyone interested contacting the Washington Wine Institute and voicing their opinion on this issue can do so this way:
Washington Wine Institute
Ms. Jean Leonard, Executive Director
call: 360.352.1557
email: info@washingtonwineinstitute.org