American Wine Consumer Coalition

WINE TALK
1

hey there -

my friend David White is working with Tom Wark to start The American Wine Consumer Coalition and it’s getting close to launching.

The thought process behind the group is simple. When policymakers consider legislation and regulation that’ll impact consumer access to wine, actual consumers are never consulted. Lawmakers will brag about giving “everyone” a seat at the table, but without fail, that consists solely of producers, wholesalers, and retailers. Consumers just don’t matter.

As part of their efforts to better understand wine consumers’ interests, they’ve put together a really short survey: Free Online Survey Software by SurveyMonkey: Closed Survey

I thought that sharing this survey with the WB Forum made sense, so if you have a spare minute please fill it out.

2

Thanks, Matt!

3

Who knew “close to launching” meant a year and a half? Anyway, the AWCC has finally launched, with our friend David at the helm. Here’s a column he wrote explaining the effort:

http://palatepress.com/2013/06/wine/finally-a-voice-for-wine-consumers/

Check out the website (linked in the above piece) and see if you agree with the mission, then consider joining. I did (that’s my only affiliation, other than being friends with some of the people involved).

4

When policymakers consider legislation and regulation that’ll impact > VOTERS> , actual > VOTERS > are never consulted.

Fixed.

The thing to remember is that voters forget. And they forget fast. But money is forever.

5

Thanks for plugging the American Wine Consumer Coalition, Scott. Much appreciated.

The following is pretty insane:

11 states ban residents from having wine shipped to them from out-of-state wineries.
36 states ban residents from having wine shipped to them from out-of-state retailers.
17 states ban its residents from buying wine in grocery stores.
4 states ban the purchase of wine on Sundays.
15 states ban corkage.

These laws are all on the books because we’re still experiencing a hangover from prohibition. And until consumers can have a seat at the table with retailers, producers, wholesalers, restaurants, and every other special-interest group, our concerns will continue to be ignored.

So please consider joining at www.WineConsumers.org!

And now, I’ll get off my [soap.gif].

Thank you!
flirtysmile

6

I joined as a sponsor. Good people behind it, that did it for me!