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+--- Thread: Wine-friendly states (/thread-2839.html)
- hotwine - 05-23-2000
Here are some questions I'm pondering while contemplating retirement:
What state might be considered the most wine-friendly to consumers in terms of its -
- interstate shipping laws
- restrictions on wine importers
- tolerance of imbibing restaurant patrons
If a single state were to stand out as easily the most wine-friendly, I'd move it to the top of my list of candidate destinations, when we finally get around to hanging it up.
Any and all opinions are most welcome.
Thanks
- Innkeeper - 05-23-2000
You might also add to your list:
-Houses have cellars.
-Plenty of local wineries.
- hotwine - 05-23-2000
Thanks, those are good additions. But I'd really like to be able to serve as my own importer. Had an agreement worked out a few years ago with a fellow in Germany who brokered wines to service clubs; he was willing to ship a mixed pallet (French/German/Spanish) to me each month at a very modest price; all I needed were the licenses and permits.
You can imagine the rest of the story: when I got copies of all of the state applications that were required, and saw that only duly licensed and bonded vehicles, buildings and drivers would come in contact with the wine, and that all of those megabuck license fees and bonds were annually renewable, and oh by the way family members couldn't participate as retailers if I were the wholesaler - I gave up.
Those are the types of nightmarish restrictions that I would love to avoid.
- Thomas - 05-24-2000
Hotwine, I fear the importer restrictions are the ones that will defeat your purpose.
Not only licensing and family member restrictions, but many states require that an importer have the wines shipped to a licensed and bonded warehouse.
The states seem keen not to allow an individual to become an importer for the sake of getting his/her wine direct from supplier and thereby cutting out the middle market, and possibly the excise taxes, not to mention sales taxes at retail.
I am in the process of starting up a retail wine shop in Manhattan. We intended to also import, but after learning about the importer requirements, my partner and I decided to drop the idea and make arrangements with one that already exists.
Funny, you are thinking of retirement, and at 55, I am thinking of starting a new business--guess which one of us must have lost his faculties....
- hotwine - 05-24-2000
Good comments, Foodie. I know the importer idea is a pipe dream, but wouldn't it be nice if we could all choose our own vendors to do business with, both foreign and domestic? And that's kind of what has happended to people in Europe under the EU: trade barriers have come down, and they find they can easily buy from vendors in other EU member countries, and sell to them, too. Sure sounds nice.
- hotwine - 05-24-2000
Incidentally, I'm just thinking about real retirement, not actually staring at it. At 58, I've already banked one career, still working on the second, and always on the lookout for the third. Kudos to you, Foodie, for the moxie to open a new wine shop in downtown Noo Yawk.
- Innkeeper - 05-24-2000
Would hate to see you so far away, but Washington may be your state. At a recent wine tasting here, we had some Vin du Pays from an importer there. Now if he can make money by importing low priced wine from France to Washington and shipping it back to Maine, that must be the place. The beer distributor putting on the tasting (see elsewhere for an explanation of that!) said the guy from Washington flew all the way out here on his own initiative to hawk his wares.
- Jason - 05-25-2000
I can only imagine the restrictions to be an importer, but it seems that the system is created for larger operations.
By larger I mean more than personal, there are plenty of smaller guys. Why not check out the little guys and let them worry with the paperwork?
Robert Kacher, & Kermit Lynch come to mind, and we are starting to see other guys pop up in other countries like Spain. Some of the wines are truly great.
- Thomas - 05-25-2000
Jason: mostly, importers are not allowed to sell direct to consumers--they do not hold retail licenses--the system is rigged.
Back when our country was founded (and almost up until the Civil War) any individual could buy wine direct from any supplier, anywhere in the world. And, most of it went untaxed.
BORN WAY TOO LATE!
- winoweenie - 05-26-2000
Doing most of travelling ( Read drinking ) in the western US It seems that Calif, Oregon or Maybe Washington have to be the most wine-friendly. All three have thriving vineyards and are reciprical shipping states. About importing your own wine, Dream On. Unless you are willing to go big-bucks, warehousing, sales force, etc. No way Jose. Winoweenie