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May 17, 2005
winos rejoice!
Joe and I were highly pleased to hear that the Supreme Court struck down the ban on purchasing wine directly from out-of-state wineries.
It will be interesting to see how it affects the wine business in general. The wholesalers are understandably upset, but many in the wine industry don't think that it will change things all too much.
According to an AdAge article (free signup required):
A spokeswoman for the Wine Institute said any impact would be felt most on wines that sell at more than $20 a bottle because shipping of less expensive products isn’t cost efficient.
And wine.com, the country's only legally operating Internet wine retailer feels like it won't change much at all.
"There is a widespread misunderstanding of the issues at hand here," said George Garrick, CEO of San Francisco-based Wine.com. "These cases will not result in a free-for-all for retailers to ship direct to consumers who order via phone or the Internet. In fact this is not about retailers at all. State laws governing retailers are different than those governing wineries. The strict state-by-state regulations on retailer direct shipments will remain in effect regardless of the rulings."Garrick continued, "The vast majority of the industry will continue to sell through the three-tier system whereby wineries sell to wholesalers, who sell to retailers, who sell to consumers. In reality, these cases will only affect a very small level of industry sales, and we do not anticipate the general structure of the industry changing at all."
But really, wouldn't it mean that wine.com could also purchase directly from wineries in certain instances, for very popular or perhaps hard-to-find wines, thus lowering both their own costs and their customers?
In fact, I think what is really exciting about it is if smaller wineries that have a following decide that they will work through direct mail or Internet shipments. I'm anxiously looking forward to two wineries in particular opening up their business for Internet shipments:
Bainbridge Island Vineyard and Winery, who don't even sell to retailers, so if they open up their business for customers to purchase via the Net or mail order, it would be absolutely wonderful. Their late harvest Siegerrebe, when available, is heavenly.
Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars, which we first learned about when we were in Montreal and had an excellent bottle of Cabernet Franc. They currently do sell their wines online but up until now, Massachusetts didn't allow shipments across state lines. A big bonus, they are not expensive at all.
I can always hope that Inniskillin will open up an online shop too...and that cutting out the middle man will drop prices for consumers who choose to buy that way.
And another that I am rather partial to, this one just a town or two away from where my family still is, Ste. Chapelle, in Caldwell Idaho.
I'm hoping that it will be the wine lover who ends up ultimately benefiting from this--the ones who are true patrons of particular wineries but have been limited in how they can get their happy tasty bottles. I'm looking forward to see the next Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast mags.
Posted by crystallyn at May 17, 2005 07:49 PM