Let me see if I have this straight. The liquor wholesalers are afraid the Big Boxes could get wine cheap and sell it cheap. And they have the clout to persuade the General Assembly to prevent that possibility by enacting rules that will drive many small wineries out of business. All so the wine, just like beer and hard liquor, will have to go them so they can add their markup to it before it gets to me. Middlemen everywhere are feeling challenged as new technology better connects producers and consumers; it's even affecting the "news" business, as many have pointed out. Just because these people have clout now doesn't mean they aren't on the way out.
This all goes back to the Supreme Court decision last year that all wineries must be treated equally. A state can't prevent out-of-staters from shipping to in-state customers if it allows in-state wineries the right to ship. The state could have said, fine, we'll fix it by letting them all ship directly to customers. It decided to go the other way by banning all shipping, though the state has a long history of allowing in-state shipments. Now the legislature is going along.
Not very business friendly. Gov. Daniels should do some house-cleaning. So should voters. Just because we're dealing with the evil alcohol is no reason to lose all reason.
But we have a habit of getting looney when it comes to booze. Because the bar is part of the same room, you can't take your 15-year-old into Hartley's for dinner even though it is one of the classiest restarurants in town. But because the actual bar is slightly raised from the rest of the room, you can take your 10-year-old into the Gas House's Saloon even though it is, you know, a saloon.
