Testifying in front of a government body is frustrating, for a number of reasons. The primary source of frustration, however, is the inability to stand up in the midst of of a hearing and shout, “Bullshit!”
It’s not so much an inability as it is a matter of decorum and one’s desire to see how the hearing ends. I stayed until the end of a hearing last Friday on HB 716, a bill that if made into law would provide Marylanders the opportunity to purchase and have shipped to them wine from wineries and retailers inside or outside of Maryland. In other words, I suppressed my desire to stand and shout, “Bullshit”, as opponents of direct shipping—both wine industry members and legislators—went about defiling logic and fact in their rush to keep consumers from accessing the wines they want.
I was in Annapolis, Maryland to testify in favor of HB 716 on behalf of the Specialty Wine Retailers Association. I was joined by local winery owners, farmers, retailers, sommeliers, consumers (Lots of consumers) and members of Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws.
Testifying in front of a legislative committee is pretty much the same in Annapolis, Maryland as it is in Sacramento, California and Springfield, Illinois and Salem, Oregon and Nashville, Tennessee and Olympia Washington. It is a stilted affair. One signs up to speak on a particular bill being heard that session. One waits for their name to be called. One then advances to a simple, rectangular table with microphones that faces a semicircle of legislators. When it’s apparent they are ready for your testimony by staring at you with nearly dead eyes you commence with, “Mr./Madame Chairman and Committee members, thank you for…”
When I reached the rectangular desk with the microphone in Annapolis, however, I noticed that the committee members’ eyes were deader than usual. I also noticed one particularly well-aged yet pretty female member of the committee to the left trying, but failing, to disguise her tendency to nod off. I started with a joke involving my mother, Boone’s Farm Strawberry wine and a particular member of the committee. I got a laugh and the older committee member to my left woke up.
In nearly every legislative hearing I’ve ever been to or testified at, the minds of the committee members, who will eventually vote to pass or not pass the bill on to the full House or Senate, have already been made up on the matter. There is the possibility to change minds. And there is the occasional legislator who hasn’t yet made up their mind either due to laziness, disinterest or genuine respect. We testify nonetheless because we know it’s important that the various constituencies and stakeholders have their views aired. In the case of the Maryland bill to allow direct to consumer shipping, I was there because it is important for the nation’s progressive wine retailers to have their view heard.
I spent three minutes explaining to the members of the Economic Matters Committee of the House of Delegates exactly what out-of-state wine retailers would do if HB 716 became law: pay for a permit, faithfully remit taxes, report to the Comptroller on a monthly basis, submit themselves to the legal jurisdiction of the State of Maryland, and assure that common carriers checked IDs before any wine is delivered.
In those three minutes I made a point of looking each committee member in the eye. However, I don’t think the older lady to my left saw me looking at her. My testimony was followed by questions from committee members, the part of the process I like most, but almost never changes minds.
Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws have been driving forward this issue of direct shipping in Maryland. Adam Borden, it’s executive director, has been relentless and built the organization into a 25,000 person-strong collection of wine and free-trade lovers. The result was a significant turnout at the hearing. Upwards of 40 individuals signed up to testify with proponents outnumbering opponents of direct shipping by at least 2-1. Everyone eventually went to the podium and did their three minutes. Not everyone got questions, but the committee members did muster the occasional question for a speaker.
The one legislator who decided to try to counter my testimony was a good looking gentleman in his late 30’s who, like most legislators, asks questions in order to make a point, not to illicit more information upon which to make a decision. What this tall, young politicians wanted to know of me was how I could claim that there would be enough shipping into the state to generate significant tax revenue, but that these shipments would not take food off the table of local retailers who would be hurt by the competition?
What I’m sure he heard me explain, but didn’t care about, was my belief that Marylanders were probably just as smart as wine consumers in other states where they are unlikely to pay substantial shipping charges on wine they could otherwise obtain locally.
In response to his query, I repeated my contention about the intellect and reason of the average wine lover Marylander. He was not satisfied with my response: “I don’t’ drink wine but I can’t believe they’ll be buying wine both on-line and at local stores.”
This forced me to explain my own proclivity for Austrian Riesling, how I can’t find much of it in Sonoma, how I buy it on-line, yet how I often patronize local grocery stores as well as wine stores to procure other wines.
“Well, I think you must like wine more than most people,” he replied.
I didn’t have a chance to tell him about my recent exploration of spirits and cocktail mixing. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway. He successfully communicated his disinterest in understanding the issue and was also successful in communicating to his patrons in the audience who opposed direct shipping that he had done his duty to take their side.
The Annapolis hearing lasted four hours. I sat through it all even though I’d heard it all before.
I learned that allowing direct shipment of wine would be “catastrophic” for the youth of Maryland who would use the sales channel to obtain alcohol then likely go kill themselves or others in a car accident. “BULLSHIT,” I didn’t yell.
I learned that out-of-state retailers can not be trusted to pay Maryland sales taxes. “BULLSHIT,” I didn’t yell.
I learned that 1000s of Marylanders would lose their jobs if direct shipping was allowed. “BULLSHIT,” I didn’t yell, again.
When all the yelling was done not getting started, the hearing ended, the committee chair thanked everyone for their input and announced the bill was unlikely to pass this year. There was no straw vote among committee members. There was no real vote of committee members. There was merely an announcement that the SUB-committee of the Economic Matters Committee of the Maryland House of Delegates would review the bill next.
When that happens there will also be no yelling of “BULLSHIT” at all. Rather, the Alcohol Subcommittee will announce they don’t’ support the bill and it will die there.
The process by which political influence is purchased and wielded includes campaign contributions, using contributions to gain access to politicians, communicating during that access what you want the recipient of campaign contributions to do, and giving them talking points for doing it without making a complete fool of themselves. The committee hearing is where it really all pays off. This is where wine shipping is killed and where distributors see their return on investment.
The more I attend and testify at these hearings and the more I see the same thing happen the more I start to believe that standing up and yelling “Bullshit” early on may not be a bad idea. It would have the benefit of getting me kicked out of a 4 hour long hearing with a predictable ending and have the benefit of actually being the truth.
In 2007 I asked myself, “what would the best wine blog look like”?
I had my own answers to this question. But what I was more interested in is what others, many others, thought about this question. It then occurred to me that were the best wine blogs able to be identified we just might be able to draw attention to the best work among those who took the time to share their insights on wine and the world of wine with others.
That’s why I founded the “American Wine Blog Awards” in 2007. I wanted to see if we could draw some attention to the best work being done by wine bloggers and in turn draw more readers to the wine blog genre.
In 2009, after conducting the 3rd Annual awards, I handed the baton over to the Open Wine Consortium, knowing that the Awards needed a larger, more capable, more objective organization to take them on and bring them to the next level.
That process is now underway. The 2010 Wine Blogs Awards are now underway, being administered by the Open Wine Consortium and the Wine Bloggers Conference. You can find a great deal of information about the awards at www.wineblogawards.org.
Currently, the administrators are asking folks for comments on what might make the awards better. That democratic process will last until March 15. On April 1 they will begin to solicit nominations in 8 categories, including a new one that honors the best NEW wine blog (A Nice Addition).
The winners, after judges and the public vote on the finalists, will be announced at the Wine Bloggers Conference, being held this year in Walla Walla, Washington on June 25-27.
I’d hope that everyone in the wine blogging community, everyone in the wine producing world, and all others in the wine industry will support this effort to shine the light on the best of wine blogging. I like to ask subjects of my “Bloggerviews” whether they believe that wine blogs have had any impact on the world of wine. This is largely a rhetorical question. Of course they have.
These are the “Oscars” of the wine blogging world. They highlight the very best. They sometimes draw attention to little known bloggers and usually confirm what we already know about the best of of the blogging world.
I’ve taken myself out of eligibility for any awards this first year after handing them over to the Open Wine Consortium. The very idea of doing this is, I realize, hubris on my part. This little blog plugs along in attempt to do no more than accurately reflect my feelings and ideas at any given moment. Still, it seemed the right thing to do.
However, I will be watching the awards closely the way a parent sits on the sidelines and watches their child pushed and supported by a more expert set of coaches.
Support these awards. Sponsor them if you can. Involve yourself in them. Visit the blogs of those that are nominated in each category. Support the most important movement in wine writing and reporting in almost three decades.
If you enjoy watching good old fashioned democracy in action, then watch the Napa Valley Board of Supervisors meeting today.
Today a public hearing is on the agenda to discuss the modification of the “Winery Definition Ordinance“. This is the public document that defines what kind of events a Napa Valley Winery may engage in and even discusses how a winery might market itself.
What everyone is in a tizzy over is this:
“Marketing of wine” means any activity of a winery identified in
this paragraph which is conducted at the winery and is limited to
members of the wine trade, persons who have pre-established
business or personal relationships with the winery or its owners,
or members of a particular group for which the activity is being
conducted on a prearranged basis. Marketing of wine is limited to
activities for the education and development of the persons or
groups listed above with respect to wine which can be sold at the
winery on a retail basis … and may include food service without
charge except to the extent of cost recovery when provided in
association with such education and development, but shall not
include cultural and social events unrelated to such education and
development.”
This is the language in the 1990 Winery Definition Ordinance that essentially prohibits weddings and other “cultural and social events” from occurring at Napa Valley wineries. A number of organizations and individuals have come to the conclusion that these very restrictive conditions for marketing at one’s own winery facility in Napa Valley are detrimental to their own financial well being, to the financial well being of the County and could easily be modified without effecting the agricultural character of the valley.
And of course they are correct. Wineries could easily have weddings and events, limited in size, that have little or no effect on the agricultural character of the valley. And anyone who says that the agricultural character of Napa will be harmed if wineries are allowed to have weddings or “social and cultural events” or even host business meetings, has some deeper agenda than wanting to preserve ag land.
But what interests me more today than the idea that the agricultural nature of Napa Valley may be completely destroyed if Marge and Hank from Antioch decide to get married somewhere in Rutherford, is another proposal that the Napa County Board of Supervisors will consider: removing the requirement that new wineries only allow wine tastings “By Appointment Only”.
” ‘Tours and Tastings’ shall mean tours of the winery and/or tastings of wine, where such tours and tastings are limited to members of the wine trade, persons invited by a winery who have pre-established business or personal relationships with the winery or its owners, and person who have made unsolicited prior appointments for tours or tastings”
This is how the Winery Definition Ordinance has help create a “By Appointment Culture” in Napa Valley.
The vast majority of wineries in Napa Valley are not accessible for tastings without a prior appointment. This is due to the 1990 Winery Definition Ordinance that restricted new wineries from having tours and tastings open to the public. This is a restriction that many want to see changed.
In my view, this would be the biggest change that could occur if the Napa Valley Winery Definition Ordinance is altered.
Currently, the vast majority of visitors to Napa Valley simply pull out their maps and their guide books and start looking for wineries to visit. Those guide books and maps mostly include wineries that are open for public tastings and those are the wineries that get the majority of visitors. Furthermore, as visitors to Napa Valley drive up and down Silverado Trail and across the Valley from Highway 29 to Silverado Trail, most of the signs they see read: “Tastings and Tours By Appointment Only”.
So, what would be the impact on Napa Valley if the “By Appointment Only” requirement found in the Winery Definition Ordinance were removed.
First, let’s be clear about something: It would have NO impact on the agricultural character of Napa Valley or threaten the culture of agricultural preservation that so many stakeholders and commentators in this debate claim could be affected if the Winery Definition Ordinance is changed.
(For that matter, allowing weddings to occur in Napa Valley would in no way threaten grape growing in Napa Valley. Yet, this claim is made regularly.)
Here’s the thing about removing the “By Appointment Only” restrictions that wineries in Napa Valley labor under:
1. The proliferation of signs along the roads of Napa Valley that say, “By Appointment Only” is a huge reason that Napa Valley is viewed as a restrictive, hoity toity, snooty place, particularly compared to a place like Sonoma County. I and others believe this isn’t a very good thing for Napa Valley.
2. Given the changes in the wine industry since 1990 (when the Winery Definition Ordinance was implemented) such as the now-important emphasis on direct to consumer sales, the restriction on how wineries can offer tours and tastings is a huge roadblock to the viability of Napa Valley’s economy.
3. Even if the “By Appointment Only” restriction was removed from the Winery Definition Ordinance, wineries would not be able to throw open their doors to 1000s of visitors per day. Their Use Permit defines how many visitors they may have on a given day, week or month.
4. Even if the “By Appointment Only” restriction were removed from the Winery Definition Ordinance, Many wineries would retain their “By Appointment Only” approach to tours and tastings as a way to qualify the kinds of people who come to taste their wines. This is just fine with me because the key is to give businesses the CHOICE as to how they market their wines.
The process by which the Napa Valley Winery Definition Ordinance is altered and changed is likely to be a long one. It began in the Fall of last year. Many issues are involved including how any change in the Winery Definition Ordinance jibe with the County General Plan and zoning regulations.
I guess my message is this: Let’s not let zealots who offer vague claims about the the demise of Napa Valley agriculture and the NV Ag Preserve resulting from more marketing opportunities that come from an alteration of thee Winery Definition Ordinance let their message carry any significant meaning.
BLOGGERVIEW #33
Who: Ed Thralls
Blog: Wine Tonite
Where: http://www.winetonite.com/
I like “Wine Tonite”. It strikes me as a quintessential 2010 Wine Blog insofar as if you glance through it you’ll see that it’s producer, Ed Thralls, has taken advantage of all the social media bells and whistles, integrated them perfectly into the site and makes the experience of reading Wine Tonite a simple straightforward one. But most of all what I like about Wine Tonite is the effortless, personable, experiential nature of the writing. Certainly this is a reflection of Ed, who clearly loves wine and everything about it. Ed is a Certified Wine Specialist working on his Certificate of Winemaking from U.C. Davis. You get the sense from reading Wine Tonight not that you are learning along the way with Ed, but rather experiencing his discovery of the various facets of wine.
1. When Did You Start Blogging and Why?
I started blogging in 2007 on Vox.com looking for some kind of creative and therapeutic outlet initially talking about everything I was enjoying in my personal life at the time from triathlons to rants about baseball and just a little about wine. Wine Tonite! went live in 2008 inspired by the idea of sharing information about the wines we would taste with our local wine club and my decision to completely immerse myself into the subject of wine.
2. In two sentences describe the focus of your wine blog.
The blog portrays our personal experiences with wine as well as our journey to become more knowledgeable about wine in a casual and informal setting such that readers may be able to relate to or learn from them in a real and collaborative way. We expect to learn more from the reader than the other way around.
3. What sets your wine blog apart from the pack?
Straight talk. Long gone are my days of writing poetry and being published in literary magazines. I generally try to keep my topics short and sweet (or at least off-dry), though I try to let my sense of humor get noticed here and there, but that more often is easier to perceive face-to-face. Sometimes it’s a stream of consciousness and spur of the moment, but if you don’t want a lot of fluff and big, fancy words in your posts, we’re right up your alley. However, the fact I misspelled Tonite! has to give me some points in eccentricity, no?
4. How would you characterize the growth in your readership since beginning your blog?
Steady. Readership crept along very slowly in the early days and I’m not even sure those in the wine club, for whom I started the damn thing in the first place, checked it out that much. Much to my surprise other local bloggers found me fairly early on and participated but the Murphy Goode Winery social media campaign gave me a nice little boost early in 2009. Now, there is a social media “system” in place and there are new visitors almost every day.
5. Do you accept samples for review?
Yes, I will accept samples for review, but make no guarantees that a review will actually make the site or that it will be a good one if it does. I’m not going to lie. It’s cool to get free shit no matter what it is, right? But, I never feel obligated to review and if wineries quit sending me wine that will be OK. However, when I come across some phenomenal juice, I am probably going to feel more inclined to tell someone about it.
6. What kind of wine rating/review system do you use and why?
When I do put up a review, I try to do so in a qualitative way as best I can so that an everyday wine drinker can read it and relate to what I experienced in the wine. I don’t do ratings or scores.
7. How do you fit the maintenance of your wine blog into your daily schedule?
Like a round peg into a square hole (that’s what she said). I wish I could post something every day and I know I will someday soon. Most of my blog work happens first thing early in the morning or late at night when I am not studying for my UC-Davis winemaker’s certificate and often depends on what content or topic I am excited about at the time.
8. Have you utilized any particular techniques to successfully market your blog?
It’s all about participation, being part of the conversation and developing relationships. The online “system” I mentioned above consists mainly of the social media mirepoix of Blog-Twitter-Facebook as well as personal network relationships, including folks in the wine biz.
9. In your view how, if at all, is blogging different than traditional wine writing for print?
I think blogs can be more personable and accessible which allows the reader to more easily relate to the writer. Traditional print writing is one-way telling you something and blogging is a two-way conversation about something. Chances are I am not going to be able to really get in contact with Robert Parker if I have a question about something he wrote, but I can expect in most cases a blogger to respond to my comment within 24 hours and we can continue the dialog. Though, I have heard RP is giving Twitter a go, so maybe he is reachable? The rules regarding experience, expertise and credibility apply equally in both arenas, but I still think many readers are more comfortable with the blog format and style of writing from many bloggers than those stereotypically pretentious mags.
10. Which other wine blogs do you read regularly?
None other than the award-winning Fermentation blog by this most wisest of wise wine men. Then there are Dirty South Wine, Suburbanwino, AtlantaWineGuy, Dr. Vino, DrinkNectar, Benito’s Wine Reviews, Good Grape, 1WineDude, SeattleWineGal and many, many others when I find the time.
11. Do you believe wine blogs have made any marked impact on the wine industry or wine culture?
That’s a tough one to measure I think at this early stage. However, I certainly notice bloggers driving traffic to wineries, exposing thousands of people to information and chatter about wine daily and challenging the status quo at conferences, in print and on the blogs of well-respected current torch-bearers of the wine writing world.
12. Vacation: Paris or the Caribbean?
Tough call. Growing up in Florida, I really love the sun, establishing my base tan, the tropics, sand volleyball, chicks in butt-floss, the Miami-Vice theme song and a strong fruity rum-type drink with a pink umbrella that I could experience in the Caribbean. But, on the other hand, if I went to Paris, I’d head straight for the vineyards. I’ll say Paris to win some brownie points with the wife too.
13. Pet: Dog or Cat?
“a dog’s got personality. And personality goes a long way.” – Pulp Fiction
14. Airplane Reading: New Yorker or People?
Instructions on the barf bag
15. Car: Prius or BMW?
“chillin in my beemer, listening to Ether” – Swizz Beatz
16. Chablis or California Chardonnay?
I’ve had some pretty darn good California Chardonnay lately, so I’m going with that.
17. Describe what you would have at your last meal?
I’m not a big foodie type and not that sophisticated when it comes to food, so I’d have to come back to something comforting like a bucket of KFC (Killer F***ing Chicken) original recipe, double-mash and flaky biscuits and a well-aged wine from the Cote Rotie, not caring if it paired well or not.
18. What is Heaven Like?
Waking up in a vineyard in the valley just as the fog rolls off soon after budbreak where the sun always shines and the climate is always cool.
19. If you could invite 4 people dead or alive to your fantasy dinner party, who would they be and who would you have bring the wine?
My sister (Michael), Robert Frost, George Carlin, Galileo Galilei and Frosty would have to bring some romance in a bottle.
20. What advice would you give to someone considering starting a wine blog?
Just do it, do your best and forget the rest, keep pressing play…
