Napa Valley Register - Letter: Consumer rights under attack again

Your ability to purchase wine of choice is under attack.

Introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives, HR 1161, sponsored by Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), would legislate for you what wine you can purchase. The bill is ironically dubbed the “CARE Act,” when it is clear that all the supporters behind the bill “care” about is protecting their monopoly, maintaining their stranglehold on the marketplace, and limiting your choice in what wine you can purchase.

Congressman Mike Thompson has strongly condemned the new bill, stating “The federal government has no business picking winners and losers in the wine, beer and distilled spirits industry. Yet the Comprehensive Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness (CARE) Act would do just that by banning the direct shipment of wine and other beverages in the U.S. The impact of this bill would be devastating for brewers, vintners, distillers, importers and especially consumers across our country.”

As an owner of a small winery, I agree that the existing three-tier alcohol distribution system should be augmented, not eliminated. The system should provide controls and regulations necessary to respect local laws, avoid underage access and provide provisions to make tax payments. It is not the intent of any winery to sell alcohol to minors or to avoid payment of local, state or federal taxes on its wines.

However, many medium to small wineries have very limited or no distribution, and garner little attention from the large distributors. They survive by selling wine through mailing lists, wine clubs, and over the Internet. HR 1161 would open the door for states to remove the right of the consumer to purchase the wine of their choice.

Members of Congress from all across the country need to hear from their constituents, who might be your friends or customers, as to why HR 1161 is bad for them. A great resource for everyone interested in helping is Free the Grapes (freethegrapes.org). Facebook and other social media pages are also good tools to use to encourage people to personalize a letter to their congressional representative.

Please join us in voicing your opposition to HR 1161 and encouraging your friends throughout the U.S. to join you.

Eric Sklar

Founder and managing partner, Alpha Omega

Member, Napa Valley Vintners Board of Directors

Napa