It shouldn't be this hard for local wine makers.

[Townsend]

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080414_12_OKLAH68740



Bill would let Oklahoma wineries distribute own products

AP
A bill allowing Oklahoma winemakers to sell their products directly to stores is making its way through the state legislature.




By Associated Press
4/14/2008  8:05 PM


OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma voters would decide whether small wineries in the state should be given back the right to distribute their own products to liquor stores and restaurants under legislation approved Monday by the state House.

The measure, passed after months of negotiations between winemakers and liquor wholesalers, would order a statewide referendum on a constitutional amendment to permit wineries in Oklahoma and other states to sell their products directly to package liquor stores and restaurants.

A similar measure was approved by the Senate last year.

Voters approved a statewide referendum in 2000 that allowed small Oklahoma wineries to sell directly to retail establishments, but a federal judge struck it down in 2006 after liquor wholesalers argued that it discriminated against out-of-state wineries that were not given the same rights. The measure had passed in all 77 counties with 78 percent of the vote.

Wholesalers have opposed the new legislation over concerns that self-distribution by winemakers will erode the three-tiered system of producer, wholesaler and retailer that has defined alcohol distribution in Oklahoma for almost 50 years.

But small wineries in Oklahoma have said large wholesalers will not distribute their products because there is too little demand. Consequently, the products are not available in liquor stores and restaurants ' even in the same community where the winery is located.

Supporters have said that under the current system, a winery that wants to sell a case of wine to a local liquor store must transport the wine to a warehouse in Oklahoma City or Tulsa, where it has to sit for 24 hours before it can be trucked back to the liquor store in the winery's hometown.

Current law also allows warehouses to charge a markup in price of about 20 percent to Oklahoma wineries who make their own wine and want to sell it in small restaurants on their own property.

The measure approved by the House places a 10,000-gallon ceiling on the amount of wine a winery produces each year before it must stop self-distributing and use the services of a liquor wholesaler.

The bill's author, House Democratic Leader Danny Morgan of Prague, has said 10,000 gallons is roughly equivalent to 50,000 bottles of wine, or about 4,000 cases.

Wholesalers have expressed concern that the measure could open the door for wineries in other states to also self-distribute and flood Oklahoma with out-of-state wines. Morgan said he hopes the measure will encourage wineries in other states to locate in Oklahoma.

The House voted 83-15 for the measure and 87-11 on a separate resolution calling for a constitutional amendment. The measures, Senate Bill 995 and Senate Joint Resolution 29, now go back to the Senate for debate and a vote.
By Associated Press

"Wholesalers have opposed the new legislation over concerns that self-distribution by winemakers will erode the three-tiered system of producer, wholesaler and retailer that has defined alcohol distribution in Oklahoma for almost 50 years."  

That quote alone makes me want to slap someone.

[cannon_fodder]

quote:But small wineries in Oklahoma have said large wholesalers will not distribute their products because there is too little demand. Consequently, the products are not available in liquor stores and restaurants ' even in the same community where the winery is located.

Supporters have said that under the current system, a winery that wants to sell a case of wine to a local liquor store must transport the wine to a warehouse in Oklahoma City or Tulsa, where it has to sit for 24 hours before it can be trucked back to the liquor store in the winery's hometown.

Current law also allows warehouses to charge a markup in price of about 20 percent to Oklahoma wineries who make their own wine and want to sell it in small restaurants on their own property.

That is just ridiculous!  How about a law that a mechanic can not work on a car unless through a dealership. You go to Jiffy Lube, who takes your car to the Ford dealership and leaves it sit for 24 hours, then they give it back to Jiffy Lube who changes your oil for $25 and a $5 dealership fee for doing nothing.

Insert whatever product you want into the mix and it is just as pointless.  Hell, it even applies if you want to change your own oil.  What?  Why?

quote:Wholesalers have opposed the new legislation over concerns that self-distribution by winemakers will erode the three-tiered system of producer, wholesaler and retailer that has defined alcohol distribution allowed companies guaranteed profits for adding little or nothing to the supply chain while limiting avilability in Oklahoma for almost 50 years.
. . .
Wholesalers have expressed concern that the measure could open the door for small wineries, brewers, and other products that distributors won't carry to enter the market and cut into the legislated profits of the monopolistic distributors.

/Fix it

[Gaspar]

I agree!  

After prohibition the government created strict taxation laws on alcohol and stringent regulation because people were willing to jump through what ever hoops the tax hungry government was offering.

If viewed like any other product, this law is beyond ridiculous.  It's damaging to the state and the country.

I can go to the liquor store and buy a bottle of Australian Shiraz shipped half way around the world then distributed across the country for about $7 a bottle.  If I want an Oklahoma wine, I have to pay twice that amount, and for now I have to go directly to the winery.

This industry cannot compete in Oklahoma if the laws remain in the realm of rediculum.

"FREE THE WINE!"
(I see the makings of a bumper-sticker).

[joiei]

[quote"FREE THE WINE!"
(I see the makings of a bumper-sticker).
[/quote]I see the makings of a new signature line.

[mrhaskellok]

quote: That is just ridiculous! How about a law that a mechanic can not work on a car unless through a dealership. You go to Jiffy Lube, who takes your car to the Ford dealership and leaves it sit for 24 hours, then they give it back to Jiffy Lube who changes your oil for $25 and a $5 dealership fee for doing nothing.
Text

Lol, that is what I was thinking when I read it.  I had to go back and re-read it to make sure I wasn't missing something.  Nope, it is that obvious, those who are making money don't want the bill because they wont be able to make 20% for not doing jack squat.  Oh wait sorry, they baby sat your wine, I forgot.
Get the government out of the baby sitting business, FREE THE WINE!!
[][][]

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[jtcrissup]

quote:

"Wholesalers have opposed the new legislation over concerns that self-distribution by winemakers will erode the three-tiered system of producer, wholesaler and retailer that has defined alcohol distribution in Oklahoma for almost 50 years."  

That quote alone makes me want to slap someone.

+1  Or, as Gundy might say "That makes me want to puke!"

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by mrhaskellok

quote: That is just ridiculous! How about a law that a mechanic can not work on a car unless through a dealership. You go to Jiffy Lube, who takes your car to the Ford dealership and leaves it sit for 24 hours, then they give it back to Jiffy Lube who changes your oil for $25 and a $5 dealership fee for doing nothing.
Text

Lol, that is what I was thinking when I read it.  I had to go back and re-read it to make sure I wasn't missing something.  Nope, it is that obvious, those who are making money don't want the bill because they wont be able to make 20% for not doing jack squat.  Oh wait sorry, they baby sat your wine, I forgot.
Get the government out of the baby sitting business, FREE THE WINE!!
[][][]

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Oklahoma's liquor distribution laws are what  organized crime looks like after it's ordained as legal by the legislature.

[EricP]

F*#!@%# idiots continue to legislate ways to kill local businesses. This needs to pass.

[Gaspar]

Is there any sane person out there that opposes this legislation?

[cannon_fodder]

Forget sane, is there anyone other than those who stand to profit financially who oppose this?

I haven't even seen the morality patrol out on this one.