Illinois wine shipments
Illinois wine shipments
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Illinois wine shipments
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Post #1 - January 27th, 2006, 8:13 amJust got this bullet from Wine.com that I think is worth sharing. I know Wirtz and Judge & Dolph are, ummm, vey cozy with the Illinois legislature. Who remembers the disastrous bill passed a few years back that made it almost impossible for a spirits producer to change distributors? So, while this law would fly in the face of general US trends, it is not that hard to imagine our representatives in Springfield doing this - after all, we have seen Illinois turn into a single party Democratic state while the Republicans are very much in ascendance in the most of the country, so we can buck trends.
Anyway, I will be writing to my state reps, and suggest others do the same.
URGENT: TAKE ACTION TO STOP THE ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE FROM PREVENTING WINE SHIPMENTS
Dear Wine Lover:
The Illinois Legislature is currently considering two bills that could impact your ability to purchase wine online or through mail order. Bill HB4444/SB2750 will let you continue to purchase online or through mail order and have your order delivered to you. Bill HB4350/SB2180 would ban any shipment or delivery of wine to consumers and require you to buy wine only at a store location.
We thought you'd like to know about this development so you can take action to protect your rights and we included on information below on how to contact your representatives in Springfield.
WHAT IMPACT WILL THE NO-SHIPMENT LEGISLATION HAVE ON YOU?
LESS ACCESS TO GREAT WINES: Today, Wine.com services you from our store located near the California wine country, and we have access to many unique vintages that aren't always available throughout the country.
INCONVENIENCE: You'll have to go to a store to purchase wine rather than shop from your own home
HIGHER PRICES: Less competition may mean that you'll have to pay higher prices for wine
WHO ARE THE MAIN BACKERS OF THE NO-SHIPMENT LEGISLATION, AND WHY DO THEY WANT IT?
Wine and spirits wholesalers want this legislation to limit competition.
WHAT ARE SUPPORTERS OF THE NO-SHIPPING BILL TELLING THE PUBLIC?
Supporters of this legislation are telling the public that this law is necessary to prevent minors from purchasing alcohol. Wine.com and other legitimate wine retailers require every wine shipment to be signed for by an adult of legal drinking age. Wine.com works with large shipping companies like FedEx and UPS, whose employees diligently enforce the adult signature requirement.
WHAT CAN YOU DO? THREE EASY STEPS TO PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS
Call, fax or write your State Representative and ask him or her to vote FOR HB4444 and vote AGAINST HB4350
Call, fax or write your State Senator and ask him or her to vote FOR SB2750 and vote AGAINST SB2180
Call, fax or write Governor Blagojevich and ask him to support your right to order wine and alcohol online by signing HB4444/SB2750 if it passes and vetoing HB4350/SB2180 if it passes.
HOW TO CONTACT YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND STATE SENATOR
Find your Representative's and Senator's contact information using your address
Find your Representative's and Senator's contact information using their name
HOW TO CONTACT GOVERNOR BLAGOJEVICH
SPRINGFIELD OFFICE
Governor Rod Blagojevich
207 State Capital
Springfield IL 62706
Phone: 217-782-6830
Fax: 217-524-4049
CHICAGO OFFICE
Governor Rod Blagojevich
James R. Thompson Center
100 W. Randolph St., Suite 16-100
Chicago, IL 62706
Phone: 312-814-2121
Fax: 312-814-6775
We encourage you to take action immediately to protect your rights. We appreciate your business and hope to be able to continue bringing you great wines in the future.
Cheers,
wine.comd
Feeling (south) loopy
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Post #2 - January 27th, 2006, 8:48 amNow, no one would ever confuse me for a legal scholar. But, wouldn't these fly in the face of the recent Supreme Court decision that struck down laws like these because they impede interstate commerce? To my knowledge, all of the states that formerly banned wine shipments from out-of-state have had to comply.
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Post #3 - January 27th, 2006, 9:02 amMs.Paris wrote:Now, no one would ever confuse me for a legal scholar. But, wouldn't these fly in the face of the recent Supreme Court decision that struck down laws like these because they impede interstate commerce? To my knowledge, all of the states that formerly banned wine shipments from out-of-state have had to comply.
As long as the law prohibits direct shipments from in state wineries as well, it'll be constitutional. This one appears to do that. A state is allowed to control access to alcohol, it just can't discriminate between in state and out of state producers.
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Post #4 - January 27th, 2006, 1:03 pmwhat are the links to find your state rep/senator by address ? The state website is truly a POS and you can't find anything there. My voter reg. card says "St. Leg = 5" "St. Rep = 10" so I'm wondering which it is.
edit: found it
http://elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator ... hType.aspx
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Post #5 - January 27th, 2006, 1:45 pmmy email to Senator Hendon. My rep's answering person didn't know her position and she doesn't have an email address.
Good Afternoon, Senator Hendon,
Thank you for your time.
I am a resident of your district and would like to know your position on Senate Bills 2750 & 2180.
SB2750 would allow internet, phone and mail-order sales of wine to continue to Illinois residents while SB2180 would effectively ban it for both in-state and out-of-state wineries, as would be required due to recent United States Supreme Court decisions that struck down laws that treated out-of-state wineries differently than those in-state.
I am of the opinion that banning this practice would lead to less competition, higher prices and bigger profits for wholesalers at the expense of the consumer. There are already enough laws with no purpose but to directly benefit Illinois liquor wholesalers and I would be very disappointed if there were yet another put on the books. I'm sure the owners of the more than 300 wineries in Illinois would agree with me as well.
As such, I would urge you to vote FOR SB2750 and AGAINST SB2180.
Thank you once again and I look forward to your response.
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Post #6 - January 28th, 2006, 10:52 amI would just like to say, try NOT to mail order wine.
I've done it in the past and have received way to much heat damaged wine. Also some stuff that was just "weird" delivered in a cold time, when I had previously had the same wine/vintage delivered in a moderate autumn time.
We have lots of great stores around Chicago and lots of great tasting events too.
Nancy
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Post #7 - January 28th, 2006, 11:12 amNancy Sexton wrote:I would just like to say, try NOT to mail order wine.
I've done it in the past and have received way to much heat damaged wine. Also some stuff that was just "weird" delivered in a cold time, when I had previously had the same wine/vintage delivered in a moderate autumn time.
We have lots of great stores around Chicago and lots of great tasting events too.
Nancy
While I agree we have lots of great stores, the fact is that some of the most interesting wines can only be gotten through the mail or by directly visiting the winery - for example, all but one of the wineries in Temecula, as well as many small, excellent Napa producers.
Two considerations that have worked for me: avoid ordering mid-summer or mid-winter, when temperatures can be extreme; and be sure to check on the packaging they ue to ship their wines. I've ordered from Filsinger, and they ship in an oversized case that cushions/insulates each bottle in Styrofoam, which seems much preferable to shipping in a typical cardboard wine case.
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Post #8 - January 28th, 2006, 12:26 pmBoth bills were dead on arrival. HB4350 would hurt Illinois wineries, and HB4444 would hurt Illinois distributors. I would look for a compromise bill that hurts no one within Illinois, and complies with all current/future Supreme Court rulings concerning interstate shipment of alcoholic beverages.
(Since the question will be asked, HB4444 would make it legal for out-of-state wineries to sell directly to Illinois retailers and restaurants. That will obviously hurt distributors, some of whom I'd agree need to be hurt, but not in this fashion. I cannot imagine mega-stores like Sam's and Binny's would be happy about this either, since I know several wineries who have specifically asked their IL distributor to keep their wines out of such stores in order to maintain price points across the country. The buying power of Sam's and Binny's currently makes such requests fall on deaf ears, as it should. Passage of this bill would insure that these stores are locked out of a number of wines.)
Mark
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Post #9 - January 28th, 2006, 3:21 pmThis has become a hot topic on the small winery boards. All of a sudden there are lots of states where this is happening. It is a direct reaction by the industry to the Supreme Court decision, in an attempt to preserve the three-tier distribution system. It's modus operandi, as noted above, is to prevent wine shipments *within* a state in order to prevent wine shipments *among* states. Since most of these internal shipments, by a wide margin, currently are made by small wineries--usually called "farmer wineries" since they are typically overseen (one way or another) by the state Dept. of Agriculture--the first thing that would happen upon passage of the law is that the state would lose its indigenous wine industry. At least this is what my friends who own small wineries in many states are saying.
If my info from the small winery boards is correct, KS just recently debated the law, KY is in the process, and a dozen other states are in the initial stages of the process.
It's interesting that the industry moved nearly at once, nationally, on this.
This is yet another case where the 500-lb gorilla smashes everything else within reach.
GeoSooo, you like wine and are looking for something good to read? Maybe *this* will do the trick!
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Post #10 - January 28th, 2006, 7:11 pmBig fan of these guys. Click on the IL link and do what you can!
Free the Grapes
http://www.freethegrapes.org/
