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Charivari (Spring 2000)To Ship or Not to Ship? by Wilhelm FrankeWhy do some California wineries insist on illegally shipping wine to states that prohibit direct interstate shipping of wine? Are the wineries uninformed and naïve about the legal consequences? Do their employees really care? Are they so greedy for a sale that they are willing to risk the loss of their licenses? Whatever the reason, their actions are dangerously shortsighted. Only when all wineries with wine clubs realize that by turning off the spigot of fine hard-to-find wines to the wine lovers of these backward states will public indignation force legislation to allow free trade. As it stands now, if we the smaller wineries ship into these misguided states we face a monetary penalty, jail time, and loss of our license to do business (this is so unreal in the LAND of the FREE). We need your help. We need a united front of wild wineries and pissed off patrons to convince legislators in those states to allow free trade between states as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. There are precedents to follow. The states of Virginia, New York, Texas, Indiana, and Florida currently are defending lawsuits citizens have filed against them concerning direct shipping of wine. It’s the law of supply and demand: California makes good wine, and other states want to buy it. Where’s the problem? Out of our fifty "united" states, twenty-nine prohibit interstate shipment in some way, and eight states consider direct shipment an outright felony. I’d like to know how our Presidential candidates stand on our rights under the interstate commerce clause of our constitution? Should Texas wineries be allowed to sell wine directly to California citizens while Texas law prohibits California wineries from selling wine directly to Texas residents? And whereas Texas law prohibits direct interstate shipping of wine, Gore’s home state of Tennessee treats wine shipments into that state as felonies! Which "state’s rights" take precedence under one Constitution? Behind this scene is the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) and its CEO Juanita Duggan who have been pushing for felony laws and federal prosecution against direct selling wineries. These actions may just backfire. Their monopoly will be broken completely as lawsuits against states continue and then wine lovers will be able to enjoy all of the wines of their choice. Remember, sell illegally and we lose. Sell legally and we will all win. |
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