A Stopped Clock is Right Twice a Day.
My very own State Representative, Deborah Hudson (R) (yes, both my state Rep and my state Senator are Republicans), will be introducing a bill to end Delaware’s 72-year-old ban on direct home wine shipment.
Current law only allows shipment of wines bought on-site at wineries, and keeps Delawareans from buying many wines, because all alcoholic beverages have to be sold through a three-tiered network of distributors, wholesalers and retailers, said House Minority Whip Deborah Hudson.
“Retailers claim they can acquire wines that their customers request, but the vast majority of them–more than 7,000 wineries the U.S.–are not handled by a distributor, so products of many of these small businesses cannot be purchased by Delawareans under the current system,” said Hudson.
One must assume that the reason the current ban is in place is because retailers here in Delaware, like Total Wine and other liquor/wine stores, fear competition from the internet ordering and delivery. Rep. Hudson says studies in Maryland and Virginia disprove that.
“In Maryland and Virginia, studies done after the enactment of direct wine shipment laws showed that retail sales of wine steadily increased in both states,” said Hudson.
So I guess I need someone to explain to me why this bill should not be passed.
The opponents of the bill won’t be retailers, it will be distributors and their union employees. There is big money in driving trucks from producers to retail establishments. Remember Chris Tigani?
I also hope that someone amends the bill to include other alcoholic beverages. The craft alcohol business (beer and spirits) has boomed lately. There are plenty of west coast beers that I’d love to have shipped to me.
They will also have to work out the tax regimen on these. Currently, retailers keep track of that stuff and pay the state.
This isn’t the first time she’s introduced this bill, either.
This bill would support small farmers, small business, and a higher quality wines.
I work in Maryland and once a year I buy and ship wine from vineyards my wife and I toured on our honeymoon in Napa. Most of these wines are not available here, because they only sell direct to the consumers or restaurants. I have those wines delivered to my work in Maryland because its legal and I need to be present during work hours to receive the wine, which requires ID, proof of age and a signature.
Winemakers who supply to distributors need to create wines that are more travel and warehouse friendly. So they use lab cultured yeasts, not the natural ones on grape, they filter wines to reduce the chance of a second fermentation and spoilage in hot warehouse conditions. With distributors we have lost structure, aromas and a sense of the soil. We have also lost a sense of time, because vintages have very little differences with their lab centric approach. These practices go hand in hand with mechanical harvest, heavy use of pesticides and fungicides.
I see a huge benefit of buying right from the vineyards/winemakers, one is you know part of its story, two is control you have access to a larger array of options and can control how its transported and stored. Third is value your dollars are going toward the growers, workers and winemakers, which means your dollars are paying for quality. Most of these farmers use practice at least one of the following technics, bio dynamic, organic and or sustainable water usage.
I believe this bill should go beyond the direct consumer and include places that sell wine. Look what has happened with local beer. The Delaware Growler for example and the Grain on Main Street in Newark. Places like Café Gelato or Homegrown, should be able to buy direct from small vine producers. America is the third largest wine producing nation in the World, but we have so much room to grow. That growth leads to real jobs for real people.
Among the biggest beneficiaries would be two of Hudson’s constituents, those esteemed California vintners Gerret and Tatiana Copeland.
@MW: Not likely. Their products are widely available in Delaware already; it would be more in their interest to keep boutique wines out.
Personally I approve of this BILL . Would love to have wine shipped in from Sonama and Napa.
And 420 day is almost here!
I was astonished to learn a few years ago that I was prohibited from shipping wine home to Delaware. How could anyone have an objection to a tourist sending a few bottles of wine home from California or France, or anywhere else?
I’m still not quite clear on the rationale for the antiquated law, implemented in the 1930s after prohibition. But, as I recall, the earlier House Bill 60 sponsored by Rep. Deb Hudson to permit direct wine shipment never made it out of committee.
The story is an older version of the casino problem: The General Assembly created conditions that allowed a lucky few to enrich themselves, and that lucky few used the proceeds to purchase immunity by purchasing future General Assemblies.
Total Wine stores are everywhere, not just Delaware. I believe the distributors would be more concerned with direct sales. But then again Delaware is such a small wine market anyway why would they be concerned?
“The opponents of the bill won’t be retailers, it will be distributors and their union employees.”
Follow the money. Or rather who stands to lose? Distributors act in a manner similar to the NRA because they believe it’s a slippery slope. Once people start to get their wine directly, distributors volume will decrease and UPS will effectively become a distributor. Additionally, distributors create exclusive arrangements where they are the only ones carrying certain brands. That’s why restaurants and liquor stores have to have multiple distributors. I know we are in a global economy but I would like to have a little bit of free trade in our own country.
If only we could do that with new cars…..
My only reason for ordering wine online would be 1) if it was cheaper (not likely), or 2) if it was something I couldn’t get it locally (more likely, but in that case it would just be one-off purchases to try a bottle here and there). Now if the bill includes beer we’d have a real fight on our hands.
@SA “If only we could do that with new cars…..”
Tesla…
Tesla has been fighting legal challenges for their business model because automotive dealer lobbied to have laws written in their favor.
@SA “Tesla has been fighting legal challenges for their business model because automotive dealer lobbied to have laws written in their favor.”
A prime example of rent seeking. Smells like Republicans at work.
Tesla has been somewhat successful with their pushback.
I think a bill should be introduced to permit grocery stores and other retailers to offer beer and wine. In the name of ‘convenience’, Total Wines pushes legislation to expand its hours of operation. Well, what is more convenient than enabling people to pick up a bottle of wine while they’re picking up fixin’s for dinner? And here’s another reason why it might be wise for Delaware to permit this. Looks like Pennsylvania is about to legalize these sales:
http://mobile.philly.com/beta?wss=/philly/news/politics&id=361478051
Why encourage people to take their dollars out of state? Yes, I’ve got a dawg in this hunt, but why not raise some revenue through licensing fees while providing the ‘convenience’ that Total Wines claims it wants? That’s what PA is doing.
This should be a poll topic on the site.
with every pun intended
don’t we have enough WHINE in this state already?
although maybe THIS WINE would help with the other WHINE?
have a nice weekend everyone – with plenty of WINE/WHINE