The Boston Wine Expo’s move against supporters of direct wine shipping comes as the state is considering a bill (H.294), which would legalize wine shipping into Massachusetts.
Right now, if I want to ship a bottle of wine as a sample to wine writers, you wouldn’t believe the hoops that have been set up. It’s done exactly so that I will just give up.
- Wholesalers don’t want the citizens of MA to know about wines outside of their portfolios.
- This guarantees wholesalers a sale, versus what they perceive as “lost revenue.”
Do you have any idea how that limits the options for wine writers and consumers alike, who would like to experience more than what is being brought into the state? With this grip that the Massachusetts wholesalers have, they’re controlling what consumers can and can’t buy.
- Is that really the American way?
- Are people of Massachusetts just sheeple?
- What about the Boston Tea Party?
- Was that all for nothing, citizens of Boston?
Wholesaler madness? I just don’t know what else to call it. It’s not all wholesalers, mind you; but, the ones that do present this major oligopoly grip are very crafty.
This isn’t mean spirited writing… It’s just my observations, and now it seems that I’ve seen it all with what the Boston area large wholesalers have pulled off with this wine event. And the people behind it are saying, “They’ve been so good to us over the years, so we’re just reciprocating.”
Yikes, I just sat back, folded my arms, and rolled my eyeballs. There seems to be no end to the control issues, when it comes to wine sales and wanting every piece of the pie.
Here’s the skinny from the American Wine Consumer Coalition (AWCC)
Subject:
Report Shows Boston Wine Expo Board of Directors Has Banned Participation By Proponents of Consumer Direct Wine Shipments
A report by industry trade journal Wine Industry Insight reports that the Board of Directors of the Boston Wine Expo—the largest consumer wine invent in the U.S.—has banned participation by any company or group that advocates or supports direct to consumer wine shipping. The ban comes at the behest of the Expo’s board members who are MA liquor wholesalers and oppose consumers being able to legally have wine shipped to them from out of state:
“Boston Wine Expo Bans Direct To Consumer Exhibitors” (February 6, 2014—Wine Industry Insight: (wineindustryinsight.com)
- The Boston Wine Expo’s move against supporters of direct wine shipping comes as the state is considering a bill (H.294), that would legalize wine shipping into Massachusetts.
- Liquor Wholesalers have long opposed direct wine shipments due to the perception it harms their profits despite enhancing consumer access to wine.
- The move by the Board of the Boston Wine Expo appears to indicate the organizers of the largest consumer wine event in America are using the event to advance an anti-consumer agenda.
For More Information:
Tom Wark, executive director, American Wine Consumer Coalition
Phone: 866-788-2180
Email: tom@wineconsumers.org
For Twitter Purposes:
Boston Wine Expo: @bostonwineexpo
Boston Wine Expo hashtag: #wineexpo
American Wine Consumer Coalition: @wineconsumers
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