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Lift the Maryland ban on shipping wine

Lift the Maryland ban on shipping wine

Thursday, January 14, 2010; A18

Craig Wolf, the president of the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, claimed that Marylanders, who are not allowed to have wine shipped directly from vineyards to their homes, "have more variety at their fingertips than consumers in any country outside the United States" ["Choice for Maryland drinkers," letters, Jan. 11].

What a ridiculous argument! How about the consumers next door in the District, who have far more variety in their wine shops and, furthermore, can buy directly from vineyards?

How many teenagers does Mr. Wolf know who drink wine? If he knows any, they could easily get friends in the District to buy for them.

It is simply an argument to continue a bureaucracy that is no longer needed, if it ever was.

Nancy Eddy, Chevy Chase

Craig Wolf takes issue with the Post's Dec. 24 editorial "No sale," which criticized liquor wholesalers' opposition to Internet wine sales in Maryland. He argues that teenagers will order wine online if the law is changed.

Come on. If the president and chief executive of the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America is more concerned with underage drinkers buying wine online than he is with protecting his association members' distribution channels, then his association needs a more dedicated lobbyist.

Geoffrey Brown, Frederick

Comments:

mbbwl wrote:

In response to Craig Wolf’s letter entitled “Choice for Maryland Drinkers”, direct shipping complements, not competes with, the three-tier system. Mr. Wolf never addresses the fundamental problem with prohibiting direct shipping: Marylanders only have access to 15% of the roughly 6,500 American wineries through its current three-tier alcohol system. The vast majority of US wineries are small – the top 14 produce 81% of all American wine – and will never be able to work with a Maryland distributor due to their limited production and budget. Although the 15,000 wines currently sold in Maryland through the three-tier system seems substantial, there are an estimated 90,000 wines made in the US and over 700,000 worldwide. Mr. Wolf rightly points out that we as Maryland consumers do have a lot of variety at our fingertips; we just don’t have enough.

Adam Borden
Executive Director
Marylanders for Better Beer & Wine Laws
4315 Underwood Road
Baltimore, MD 21218
Tel: (443) 570-8102
http://www.mbbwl.org/
Donate: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=2184279
Contact Legislator: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/maryland-consumer-direct-ship-petition
Facebook: http://wwww.causes.com/mbbwl/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/mbbwl
MeetUp: http://www.meetup.com/Marylanders-for-Better-Beer-Wine-Laws/

1/14/2010 3:47:24 PM

commonsense101 wrote:

Amen, Nancy. From your pen to the State legislature. Let's hope Maryland fixes this nonsense fast.

1/14/2010 2:25:58 PM

gthyatt wrote:

Craig Wolf apparently claims the right to determine which and how many wines are sufficient for consumers. He should know that mny wines from small producers are only available directly from the wineries, and are not avaioable through the three-tiered system. The issue of underaged drinking is without merit, given the restrictions on deliveries to adults only. Can anyone seriously claim that teenagers never obtain alcohol through lapses in the current system?

1/14/2010 10:00:11 AM

ronjaboy wrote:

Craig evidently knows little about teenage drinking habits. Their chief consideration in re alcohol is the price and immediacy and ease of access; neither of which is characteristic of mail order wine. Trust me, as I remember my teenage years, there is always a way for them to get it. His position is pure protectionist claptrap.

1/14/2010 6:46:02 AM

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