Oooooh-wee! Lousiana just came up with a simple, mildly creative solution to a dilemma caused by the Supreme Court.

  The Supreme Court ruling aobut direct wine shipments hinged on the inequity between in-state wineries and out of state wineries. Lousiana legislation just passed, House Bill #338 prohibits in-state wineries from acting as a wholesaler, levelling he playing field.

  Again, this is all murky water, as politicians seem to stir it up when it comes to booze. Due to the prohibition ammendment in the constitution, states are in charge of their own liquor cabinets. Which puts a red spin on things. And I do blame the moralizing religous right-wingers for this mess. But show me a bible-banger extolling the evils of alcohol and I’ll show a hypocrite. Those that sermonize too much about morality always live in glass houses. Always.

Bayou Buzz on Bill #338

  So…how will this effect the state in which I live? Washington state has the second largest wine  production behind California. But unlike California, it’s mostly garagiste winemakers, making, bottling, selling, and delivering the wine all by themselves. Many of these wineries stay viable by selling wholesale directly to stores, restaurants, and wineshops. Generally they will do this in Seattle and King County and get a distributor for the rest of the state.

  This is huge.

Wine algebra says a wine costs 3x in the store.
A distributor pays a winery 1x for Jamonit Syrah.
A retailer pays a distributor 2x for it.
A retailer charges a customer 3x.

  Yes this is an over simplification, but not far off on average. If a winery has to give up all the business they do acting as their own distributor, if they can only get 1x or so for their product, and never 2x, that cuts at least half of their business by half. Most wineries stay alive by the business they do in Seattle restaurants and shops. To say this market is 50% of their take is ultra conservative. So assume most winery profits will at least be cut by 25% and as much as 40%.
     If I were a Washington winemaker, I’d be buying some poster board and sharpies and writing my congressmen before some tightass nutjobs in the state capital determined my future.