The propaganda campaign of the Wine & Spirit Wholesalers Association (WSWA) to try to throw up any roadblock to wine direct shipping to protect their economic turf continues.
Craig Wolf, the CEO of the WSWA, was recently quoted in Wine & Spirits Daily saying that "There are scores of thousands of retailers, and if the state allows retailers in addition to wineries to ship, how is it possible that they will ever be able to regulate those sales?"
Some facts:
- "Score" (in the context used) is defined in the dictionary as a group of 20 items. Mr. Wolf is therefore claiming that 40,000+ wine retailers will rush to gain wine direct shipping permits (if available) and overwhelm the state regulatory agencies.
- Even if 40,000+ wine retail outlets do exist (which I highly doubt even counting 7-11s, supermarkets and convenience stores), most retailers in this broadly defined category are not shipping wine today.
- According to Winesearcher.com, considered to be the leader in wine price comparison engines, their comprehensive site offers price listings (as of today) from a total of 908 U.S. wine retailers. Presumably, this is the relevant universe of wine retailers interested in shipping to other states as they are promoting their wines online.
- In contrast, there are currently 4,712 wineries in 50 states according to WineAmerica, the national association of American wineries.
- According to a recent press release from the Specialty Wine Retailers Association (which is what prompted this post), retailers represent only 15-20% of permits issued in states where wineries and retailers can both apply (which is about the ratio of the above numbers).
Bottom line: The answer to Craig Wolf's rhetorical question on how states can regulate wine retailers if they are permitted to ship directly to consumer is simple -- "easily."
