Tag Archives: liquor laws

Winebits 295: Liquor stores, riesling, Canada

? Prepare for a rant: Marketwatch, which usually does a decent job of covering the business world, decided to do one of those ?Let ?s write a story because it sounds good even though it isn ?t much true ? pieces ? ?Could liquor stores go the way of bookstores The difference, regardless of anything else, is that wine sales are regulated and books sales aren ?t, something that isn ?t mentioned until the fourth from the final paragraph of the story. There ?s also the cost of shipping, which isn ?t mentioned at all. Sometimes, I wonder what assignment editors are thinking of when they do these stories. This piece is so bad that it immediately becomes a finalist for a Curmudgie.

? Getting a handle on riesling: Mike Veseth at the Wine Economist has a nice look at the dilemma facing riesling, which is sweet but not popular, made in weird places, and known pretty much only to Germans and wine geeks. He did a panel where they tasted great riesling from Idaho. Ah, go Drink Local.

? Love those Canadian liquor laws: Canada, which did not have Prohibition but still ended up with a highly regulated retail liquor system, always offers a good example that makes us feel better about three-tier. Witness this, from a study that says the Ontario provincial store system drives up beer prices by as much as C$9.50 a case. To make the results even more ironic, the study was paid for by a convenience store trade group that wants to sell beer. And we know how cheap beer is at convenience stores, don ?t we?

Winebits 291: Government regulation edition

Because the United States is not the only country with liquor laws that seem designed to baffle more than anything else. Although ours are certainly intriguing — right, Pennsylvania?

? Standoff over deregulation: The Pennsylvania Legislature didn ?t deregulate its state store system this session, though it came closer than ever before. Voters wanted an end to state stores, but that wasn ?t enough. Not enough Republican lawmakers, who should theoretically be opposed to government regulation, supported the plan. Democrats, who are supposed to be populists, were almost universally opposed to it. The measure, controversial enough, also got hung up in a dispute over transportation funding and a squabble between the state house and senate. Which means it ?s time for a Winston Churchill quote: ?Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time. ?

? Minimum pricing: The British government, which had hoped to set minimum prices for alcohol to cut down on binge drinking, is backing off the plan, reports The Drinks Business trade magazine. Instead, the coalition government will try to persuade retailers that sell booze below cost not to do so. The plan, which has been endorsed by a variety of consumer and health groups, apparently fell victim to the upcoming British general election. The magazine reports that Conservative MPs persuaded the prime minister to focus on more ?core ? issues in the run-up to the election, given the government ?s poor poll numbers.

? ?It’s good to be the king:” Ontario liquor regulators know which side their bread is buttered on, and apparently have no qualms about making sure it stays buttered. The Canadian Press reports that the Liquor Control Board of Ontario sells booze to federal government agencies and foreign embassies and consulates at 49 percent less than it charges consumers. Plus, the board had to waive the minimum pricing policy that applies to everyone else to allow it to offer the discounts. Hence the reference to Mel Brooks, another great political philosopher.

Winebits 271: Algerian wine, Michigan, Italian wine

? Even bigger than France: Those of us of a certain age will remember Algerian wine as really cheap and not very good ? sort of like Two-buck Chuck without any redeeming features. I once asked a French winemaker, who was working in Wisconsin, what that was like. His answer? Making wine in Algeria prepared him for anything. The point of this is a terrific piece by Beppi Crosariol in Toronto's Globe and Mail talking about the glory days of Algerian wine, when the French colony was the world's leading exporter.

? Another liquor law battle: This time in Michigan, which has one of the most restrictive three-tier systems in the country and was the defendant in the Supreme Court case that liberalized direct shipping. A bill has been introduced in the state ?s legislature, by a pro-business Republican, to allow increased retail sales and to lighten regulatory burdens on the state ?s winemakers. Needless to say, a spokesman for the state ?s distributors didn ?t miss a beat: ?There are proposals which threaten the licensed three-tier system which exists today as it relates to separation of manufacturers, distributors and retailers. Those provisions are what help bring about an orderly marketplace. Who knew Michigan ?s small wineries were so powerful?

? Cheap Italian wine: Another winner from the Italian Wine Guy, discussing how many wonderfully pleasant and inexpensive Chiantis are available: ?Anyone who has waited at a bar for a table in any number of Italian-American places knows there is a lot of crappy overpriced Chianti being poured. Probably one of the reasons why folks think the wine has seen better days. But this tasting, done blind, was different. The wines seemed to have a sense of place. Yeah, they were humble and every-day friendly. But they weren ?t pretending to be something they weren ?t. ? What more can we ask of cheap wine?

Winebits 252: Glen Ellen, tasting notes, wine labels

? The end of a legendary brand? Glen Ellen, the brand that helped fuel the 1980s wine boom, has apparently disappeared and exists today only as part of another brand, Concannon. Both labels are owned by The Wine Group, which also makes Cupcake. Lew Perdue has the depressing details at Wine Industry Insight, Why depressing? Because Glen Ellen chardonnay was one of the first cheap and mass produced but well made wines available in the U.S., and those of us of a certain age used it to get into wine. If you held a party in the 1980s or early 1990s, you bought a bunch of the 1.5 liter bottles of the various Glen Ellen varietals.

? Stupid tasting notes: Blake Gray, writing in Palate Press, notes that tasting notes are some of the most difficult things to do if you write about wine. I know I hate writing them, and I ?m terrified that after a while, the notes for all the wines I review read exactly the same. Gray offers some terrific advice, quoting Eric Asimov of the New York Times: Notes should describe the texture, freshness, and body of the wine more than fruit flavors. Asks Gray: ?Who buys a wine because it ?s described as tasting like peaches instead of apricots

? Not in New Hamphire, you don ?t: From the state liquor law file comes this, where regulars are trying to decide if a wine called If You See Kay should be sold in state stores. The label, say critics, is obscene, crude and tasteless, and the wine needs to be off shelves. The Wine Curmudgeon thinks it ?s just stupid, which is why I ?m not a regulator. The story in the legendary New Hampshire newspaper, the Union Leader, is a hoot to read, and describes the label thusly: ?The provocative ?Kay ? label, when pronounced, spells out the four-letter vulgarity. ? Wish I had written that.

Alabama keeps living up to Neil Young’s expectations

Regular visitors to the blog know that the Wine Curmudgeon keeps a close eye on wine and liquor doings in Alabama. The state always seems to do exactly the wrong thing, continually demonstrating the inadequacies of the three-tier system.

In 2009, state booze cops forbid the sale of Cycles Gladiator wine, citing what the agency called its pornographic label ? even though the label came from an 1895 art print, didn ?t seem to bother anyone else in the rest of the country, and had been on sale in Alabama for three years.

Earlier this year, a couple of multi-million dollar (and sort of out of state) beer distributors used their juice with the Alabama legislature to squash the state ?s 13 wineries. Apparently, they were terrified of the competition. Or at least that ?s what they said.

In the latest development, the liquor cops raided a Birmingham beer and wine store and seized home brewing equipment, even though it ?s not always illegal to sell such items in Alabama. They also took home brewing books. I wonder: Will the state try to block references to home brewing and home winemaking on the Internet if someone complains? Will they try to ban the blog for linking to this?

So thanks, Alabama. We can always count on you to brighten our day ? as well to provide an opportunity to post a video of Neil Young performing the classic ?Alabama, ? after the jump:

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Winebits 190: Liquor laws, wine tasting, winery websites

? Utah's barriers: Those of us who think our state's liquor laws are the worst need (that includes you, Pennsylvania) to check in with Utah. The New York Times reports that "Stiff drinks and doubles are illegal in Utah. Bars and restaurants must use meters on their liquor bottles to make sure they do not pour more than 1.5 ounces at a time. Other liquors can be added to cocktails in lesser amounts, not to exceed 2.5 ounces of liquor in a drink, as long as they are poured from bottles clearly marked 'flavoring.' " What's even weirder is that the state's laws are much more liberal than they used to be. I did a story about Utah's liquor laws in the run-up to the 2002 winter Olympics, which saw the state suspend some of its laws to accommodate European visitors and then un-suspend when the Olympics ended. Needless to say, bar and restaurant owners were less than thrilled.

? Blind tasting trumps all: Not that we needed any more evidence that we're predisposed to like wine if we think we know something about it, but researchers have found that telling someone where the wine is from influences their opinion. What makes this study interesting is that consumers were asked which bottle tasted better — one from India or one from Italy — and their perception of quality seemed to depend on where they thought the wine was from. The kicker? There was no wine from Italy or India, but an ordinary bottle of $16 wine that served as the wine from India and Italy.

? Winery websites stink: Or, to be more accurate: "Unfortunately, 90 to 95% of winery websites stink." That's from Sean Sullivan at the Washington Wine Report, and Sean knows his stuff. The post is must reading not only for winery owners, but for consumers who go to a website to find information about a wine or winery and find only boilerplate about the winery and almost nothing about the wine. My favorite? Sean writes that many sites have a line like "We are dedicated to producing super premium wine from Washington ?s finest vineyards." No kidding. Says Sean: "First, almost no one knows what super premium means. Second, you ?re in luck! Everyone else is looking to make plonk from vineyards that are producing 20 tons an acre!"

Winebits 175: Wine smuggling, ancient wine bottles, Bordeaux ratings

? Protesting Canadian liquor laws: A former Mountie and broadcaster will launch a Canadian-wide convoy around May 4, in which he will carry wine across provincial lines, to protest what he says are his country's archaic liquor laws. The Vancouver Sun reports that Terry David Mulligan says he is even willing to go to jail to overturn the 83-year-old Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act, which makes it illegal for anyone to bring wine (or beer or spirits, for that matter) into another province. As someone who knows a bit about these kinds of liquor laws, the Wine Curmudgeon would like to warn Mulligan to be very careful. Those liquor cops mean business.

? Letting wine age: Or any of a thousand other bad jokes (many of which seem be in the story from Britain's Daily Mail). Two Chinese bronze containers, made to hold wine some 3,000 years ago, valued for an auction next month at almost 2 million, or about US$3.25 million. And, in the finest tradition of this sort of story, the bottles cost their owners about 1,000 each when they bought them in the 1960s. Though this probably doesn't mean that it's time to start saving your wine bottles on the off chance something might develop.

? New French vintage is great: Just in case anyone is wondering, but the 2010 Bordeauxs are a "great vintage ?a lucky continuation of a stunning succession, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009." And the best wines? Chateau Margaux, Latour, Lafite and Cheval Blanc — which, for those of you who don't follow these things, are pretty much always among the best wines. If anyone has a couple of 3,000-year-old Chinese wine bottles, we can sell them and probably afford to buy a bottle or two of the 2010s.