Sunday, March 01, 2009

Red White and Food

I hope that you have heard of these folks, as they want to do something simple for all of us who like wine with our dinner. You will now find them on THE ENDLESS BLOGROLL down and to the right. Simply put, they want nothing more than grocery stores to be able to sell wine. Not hard liquor, just wine. Also, with any luck, they will open things up so liquor stores can sell beer.

The liquor distributors are whining that this will enable minors to buy wine more easily. I'm not buying it for a second; they already ID everyone for beer, what difference is wine going to make? None, of course; what they truly fear is that it will drive down the price of wine. Yes, fans, we may yet see the arrival of Two Buck Chuck here in Tennessee.
Really, though, do any of you think that the Hammonds will have to close Buster's if this passes? 80% of their wine selection can only be found at one or two other stores in this metro market, because it's a high quality wine store; Kroger's, I can assure you, will NOT be selling high-end wine.
Look, let me put it to you as bluntly as I know how. You can go in to a convenience store in TRUMANN, ARKANSAS, a town of 7,000 people, and buy a nice inexpensive bottle of chardonnay, but not Memphis, Tennessee, home to 630,000 people. What the hell? No, really, what the hell?
I urge you to go click on the link up there and sign on for their newsletter. Then, call your state legislators and ask them to get on board. The Knoxville News-Sentinel agrees with Red White & Food, why shouldn't you? This can only lead to more sensible liquor laws for a state that hasn't had them in the thirty-six years I have resided here.
You'll be glad you did.

4 comments:

Becky Kelly said...

Other than making things a little more convenient for us consumers, what benefits would this bill allow? Personally, I like my neighborhood liquor store and would like to see them keep their income and their employees keep their jobs. Grocery stores already have a viable product that we all need so they can continue to manage without wine sales. We can afford a little inconvenience if it means not causing others to lose their source of income.

Steve Steffens said...

1) It would increase competition, lowering prices on wine AND beer, as part of the deal would be that liquor stores could sell beer, forcing down prices at grocery and convenience stores.

2) Buster's sure won't be hurt by this, and neither will mom-and-pops who will see their business boom with beer and setups.

3) the only people who benefit from things are they are are the liquor WHOLESALERS, who know that Schnucks and Krogers can create their own wholesaling units, creating jobs (and in the case of Kroger, UNION jobs). Not only that, their inflated prices will have to come down.

Win-win all the way around!

Becky Kelly said...

If it is a win-win, as you say, then why are the liquor stores against this? And exactly who is behind this legislation and what is their true agenda?

Steve Steffens said...

Because the wholesalers have them convinced they'll be priced out of business. However, this will also open things up for NEW wholesalers, who would be able to offer the liquor stores better deals.

This is about tearing down the preacher-bootlegger alignment that has forced Tennesseans to overpay for liquor for years....