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Home > Blogs > Uncorked > Archives > 2007 > May > 09 > Entry
Wine shipping, wholesaler issues heating up in Columbus and elsewhere
The issues of direct-shipping of wines from wineries to consumers and of how wines are distributed through a three-tier system are heating up here and elsewhere, and make no mistake: consumers like us will feel an impact.
There’s news this morning that specialty wine retailers are promising a lawsuit if proposed legislation in the Illinois General Assembly is approved that will prohibit Illinois residents from ordering wine from out-of-state wine retailers.
These are exactly the kinds of issues that Ohio legislators are grappling with, but so far, they’re doing it relatively quietly. An amendment to the state budget bill that recently passed the Ohio House unanimously would have made some substantial changes in the way wines are sold and distributed in this state, and it would have done so with little fanfare or public debate, since it was so dwarfed by everything else that was in the massive two-year budget plan.
Some Ohio wine industry folks were pleased with the proposed changes; some were not. But confusion arose over the wording of the amendment and the difference between “retail” sales of wine and “take-home” sales of wine — i.e. the bottles purchased by visitors of Ohio wineries. Some Ohio winemakers suggested the wording of the amendment as it was initially written would have devastated their business. In the end, the entire amendment ended up being scuttled, and everyone’s back at square one.
Those involved in the state’s wine industry say winemakers desperately want to preserve their right to sell directly to restaurants and wine stores — in essence, to act as their own distributor, or wholesaler. A law that would force all Ohio wineries to sell their wines through a distributor rather than directly to retail shops and restaurants could dramatically increase prices to consumers, or drastically cut the profits to Ohio wineries, or both. Some wineries say they would not be able to survive.
Ohio wineries also want to be able to continue to legally ship their wines directly to consumers within the state.
Now, how are legislators going to craft new laws that bring Ohio into compliance with the U.S. Supreme Court decision that mandates equal treatment of in-state and out-of-state wineries, appease a wine distributor lobby that has shown great political muscle in Columbus and many other state capitols, and avoid decimating a young, growing wine-producing industry, while not screwing over consumers in the process?
Um, with great difficulty.
Stay tuned.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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Comments
By Chiefwino
May 11, 2007 7:35 AM | Link to this
Why does the legislature need to fix something that is not broken. (OK I know the distributors are pushing for protectionist changes.) But over the last ~1 year since the Supreme Court decision on interstate shipping, Ohio has let shipping occur freely. I am not aware of any statistics/studies to indicate that there has been a hugh increase in underage access to alcohol due to the relaxed enforcement. The underage issue has always been the focal point for attempts to restrict shipping. It seems the government could spend its time on more pressing issues such as actually solving the public school funding problems.