No matter how long you live, there are always a few surprises along the way, especially in the world of wine. We’re all aware that with 50 states in the union, there are at least 50 different sets of laws involving winemaking, marketing, selling and so on. Each state, following the repeal of prohibition, was given the right to control alcohol sales as it saw fit. That was in 1933, and most of those same laws are still on the books and being enforced. Change has been slow to come for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is a prohibitionist attitude of the poor souls who haven’t been enlightened about the benefits of moderate consumption of alcohol—wine in particular. Religious attitudes will probably never change, since that change is even slower than governmental change. Since attitude change moves slightly slower than a glacier, we’ll continue to beat our heads against the wall in loosening governmental regulation on wine sales.
What brought this topic up is something I thought I’d never see: A change in attitude of wine sales in, of all places, Pennsylvania. This is one of the most conservative (asinine) states. Hard liquor and wine can only be bought in state-owned liquor stores and beer can only be bought from local distributors and only then in cases or kegs. Some local corner stores and delis can get a license to sell beer, but at a limit of two six-packs only. (Better only have one friend over unless you plan ahead.) Seems completely ridiculous—and it is. As a California winery wanting to sell your wine in Pennsylvania, you have to wine and dine members of the State Liquor Board. That sounds like a fun job. I guess that’s one area where bribery is still legal.
Hopefully several other states are watching, because the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) has, for whatever reason, tried to encourage alcohol consumption. You don’t suppose that an increase in tax revenue could be a (or the) reason? Whatever, if a large state like Pennsylvania makes some important changes, others are likely to follow, and that can do nothing but help us in liberal California. Other changes suggested by the board include: More stores open on Sunday—currently only 25 percent are, even though Sunday is the second-biggest retail day in the state; lengthening open hours to 9 p.m. (instead of 5 or 6 p.m.); adding the option of home delivery through the PLCB website (how come we don’t have that?); clean up and modernize local stores and make them more consumer-friendly; and now the biggie, adding wine kiosks to supermarkets and other retail arenas; privatization has also been suggested. This will be one to really watch and maybe get Big Brother out of the retail alcohol business. Fat chance!
What’s a wine kiosk? It’s a kiosk where you can buy wine just like getting a movie. The kiosks will be in supermarkets and, of course, Walmart will be one of the first to get approval. The kiosks are about the size of four big refrigerators holding up to 500 bottles of about 45 varieties. PLCB will select the wines to be sold and there has already been bitching by the local Pennsylvania wineries. One winery owner said, “They should subscribe to the idea of local support.” My answer to that is if only Pennsylvania wines were available, wine consumption would fall precipitously, especially if you had a vinifera wine palate. And how do you control who buys the wine? Can anyone put in money and out pops the wine?
Well, it goes like this. You approach the kiosk and look at the selection available. Once you’ve decided, you insert your driver’s license and it’s read while you’re standing in front of a camera where your picture is relayed to a service center where a person is watching to see that your picture matches the license. Next, you have to blow into a breathalyzer where your blood alcohol is determined and, if higher than 0.02 (0.08 is legally drunk in most states), the transaction is cancelled. (The mouthpiece is replaced between customers.) Once finished, you insert a debit or credit card and out pops your wine. The whole process can take less than a minute in most cases. I should point out that these kiosks are state-owned and operated, so we still don’t have the state out of the wine business. However, it’s encouraging to see some progress made in making it easier to buy wine. I guess you’d call this easier, even though Big Brother is watching and listening.
So far, the kiosks have had a favorable response from the public. Soooo! You can’t sell wine from the shelf in a supermarket, but you can buy from a kiosk in that same store. What part of this don’t I understand? We may be in big budgetary problems in California, but at least we can drown our sorrows with a good glass of wine that we can buy pretty much anywhere, and with the exception of restaurants, at a reasonable price and a far greater selection than the 45 varieties the kiosks offer.
Well, I brought this little gem to you to help you understand that, despite all of our complaining, at least we live in a far more liberal climate when it comes to wine and alcohol. Oops! Did I say liberal? The next big step we need in about 30 or so other states is to eliminate the mandatory three-tiered system that requires the use of a wholesaler/distributor when selling wine. This is the holy and sacred cow of the wholesale-distributor industry, and it spends millions each year in lobbying state government officials. Maybe in the next couple of issues we can hammer away at that greedy group. In this state, they’re about as monopolistic as legally possible. Small wineries have about as much chance as an ice cube in hell as they do getting their wine into the books of these distributors and being sold. Wouldn’t you love to be one of the several hundred wines that are already there?
OK, it’s homework time, and remember to drink only screw-top wines this time to see that they can be really good. Also write a term paper on what makes a wine worth $40+ (other than beauty resides in the mind of the beholder). Adios amigos!
