The OLCC does it again
Monday, July 28, 2008
I'm not a big fan of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission as it is, but the OLCC really got it wrong this time. John and Judi Stuart opened AgriVino, a wine tasting room and retail business, on their property near Carlton, Oregon. AgriVino was based on the idea that visitors could taste and learn more about Yamhill Wine Country before going out to individual wineries. The business plan was centered around the Enomatic wine dispensing machine (pictured above). The customer uses a card to obtain samples from the machine. These cards would be sold by an employee licensed by the OLCC at AgriVino. The OLCC has determined that this qualifies as “self service” and violates a statute that states, “Any person employed by a licensee of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission who participates in any manner in the mixing, selling or service of alcoholic liquor for consumption on the premises where served or sold shall have a valid service permit issued by the commission.”
This is where the stupidity comes in: The machine dispenses a maximum of 10 1oz. samples in two hours... this equals one and a half glasses of wine in two hours. I can purchase a bottle of wine at a restaurant and drink it all myself and that seems to be OK with the OLCC, but a glass and a half obtained from a machine is not. Seriously? There is a licensed person monitoring everything and in charge of selling the wine cards so I fail to see the issue. Unfortunately, the OLCC is too blind to see the idiocy of this and is too stubborn to change its mind. And they wonder why no one likes them...
Posted byJen at 8:59 PM 1 comments
Challenge to Massachusetts direct ship law
Thursday, July 24, 2008
As many wine lovers around the country have unfortunately discovered, direct-ship laws can be a nightmare and may prevent you from ordering wine directly from your favorite winery. In 2005 the Supreme Court issued a decision in Granholm v. Heald that stated states cannot be discriminatory in their wine shipping laws. If they allow in-state wineries to direct ship, then they must allow out of state wineries to directly ship to consumers as well... kind of an all or nothing agreement. Since then, many states have had to reconfigure their laws within these guidelines. This has just led to lots of confusion and many court challenges.
On Tuesday, July 29th the Coalition for Free Trade will present oral arguments on behalf of Family Winemakers of California challenging the Massachusetts law. The current Massachusetts statute states that a winery can ship to consumers if they produce less than 30,000 gallons of wine a year and if they have not used a wholesaler in the last six months.
This is something to definitely keep an eye on this coming week and it will be interesting to see what comes of it. Free the Grapes is a great organization if you want to get involved or just want to keep up to date on the latest direct ship news.
Posted byJen at 8:56 PM 0 comments
