Silly state

[dananne]

This weekend, the first Trader Joes will open in Atlanta. However, because of stupid alcohol laws passed by our possibly insane legislature, it will open DRY. Retailers are required to buy from authorized wholesalers, and wholesalers can't deal in exclusive brands, so a brand available anywhere has to be made available everywhere. Now, I wasn't about to run out and fill my cellar with Two Buck Chuck, but it would have been nice to have another place to go wine shopping.

Along the same lines, the "Georgia Wine Highway" signs in N. GA, helping tourists navigate the mountain highways to visit local wineries, have been removed. They used an old state law prohibiting "gratuitous signage" on state highways. So, now the winery directional signs have been torn down, and business has dropped markedly, hurting this fledgling industry. This on top of the fact that in-state wine shipments to consumers are banned, and wineries are forbidden to sell their wares off-site, meaning no festival sales, etc.

It's hard sometimes to be a wine lover in GA.

[hotwine]

Incredible! Sounds like a good house-cleaning is in order in local and state government.

We've come a long way in the last few years, since throwing out the old Democrat pols who once had an iron grip on the state. There are still a few of them around who can't stand free enterprise, love taxes and would like to turn the whole state into a union shop. ... keeps us on our toes.

[Kcwhippet]

Hey, Gil, are you voting for Kinky Friedman?

[brappy]

The Trader Joe's in Maryland are dry as well. I have gone down to DC to check out thier wines. I'm not missing much but they do come through on value wines.

[hotwine]

No thanks, Bob. He's got some good got tag lines *, but he's too Kinky for me. Perry is too much a RINO, but he's an Aggie and has some conservative principles and is far better than his opposition.

* Sample tag line from Kinky: "Politics can be broken down as "poly" - meaning "many" - and "ticks", meaning "blood-sucking parasites". Gotta love that one.

[VouvrayHead]

I like Kinky pretty well, and like anyone who scares the Democrats AND Republicans.
I'm keeping an eye down South on that one.

[Bucko]

I read where the Independent Party is the fastest growing -- it's time to kick all of the far left and far right nut jobs out of congress. We need moderates to restore order.

Rudy is getting my vote in '08.

[TheEngineer]

Hey MA is not any better.....saved only by nice guys like KC and his shop and a few other places of good reputation.

[Bucko]

Sounds like someone in GA needs to file a lawsuit. I just read where a guy in TN is suing over wine shipping. The courts have been very favorable to opening shipping up a bit.

[winoweenie]

What a bummer!!!! Does youse mean that the Traders in Atlanta wont offer the great buys on juice that's available here in Az? You lucky gooses'll still be able to buy their marvelous wild Pacific Salmon marinated in Chimichirra sauce at 6.99 lb. This unioque chain will make the chains in your state sit up, trim their margins, upgrade their quality, and offer products only found now in high-priced boutique jernts. WW