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In a recent exclusive interview with Subhash Arora of
Indian Wine Academy, Mr. Ajay Dua, Secretary to the
Government of India, Department of Industrial Policy
and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce & Industry had
stressed that the US also faced similar problems in
various states. Defending the government’s elimination
of ACD but its inability to influence States which have
been given independent powers by the constitution, he
had said, ‘Look at the USA. Their own state laws
are so complex. So they appreciate our stand that we
did the best we could.’ ( visit http://www.indianwineacademy.com
for his interview)
The Prohibition-stung, distributor/wholesaler controlled
antiquated laws are not conducive for wine drinkers
in the US. During the past few years a string of court
cases have been taken up by various courts.
Illinois lawmakers have now approved a measure that
would change how wineries throughout the state can sell
their products.
If signed into law, the measure passed on Tuesday would
broaden the number of wineries from which Illinois consumers
can buy directly and improve the variety of specialty
wines consumers can find in stores and restaurants.
The new bill would allow a uniform 12-case limit on
all wineries. It will also do away with another prevalent
rule that requires Illinois to have a special agreement
with states for the cases to be sold.
The measure also would let small wineries directly
supply eateries and liquor stores with wine without
making them go through licensed alcohol distributors,
yet another constraint for wine marketing. Out-of-state
wineries now are barred from directly distributing to
retailers, whereas in-state wineries are able to distribute
a certain amount, based on their size. (Looks like
they are closely watching and learning from Maharashtra
policies -editor)
The changes will bring Illinois into compliance with
a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision requiring states
to treat in-state and out-of-state wineries the same
way.
“It will allow our selection to grow a bit, those
of us those who are interested in finding those unique
and different things, small production things, it will
give us the ability to seek them out and call the winery
and get it in here,” said Amy Blair of Vino 100.
But the proposed law also includes a few stipulations
that some people are not happy about.
The Specialty Wine Retailers Association says the proposal
is unconstitutional because it prohibits Illinois consumers
from buying wine from out of state retailers.
But they say the proposal would allow in state retailers
to ship to Illinois customers.
(Resource: http://www.suntimes.com
)
Meanwhile, the USA’s Treasury Department has
released a proposal which requires that wine labels
list alcohol content, servings per bottle and some nutritional
information, according to the German based international
magazine, Wine Business International. The new labels
would have to include such macronutrient information
as calories, carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
According to the New York Times, the Centre for Science
in the Public Interest is against the listing of nutrients,
as they could give an impression that “there is
some nutritional quality to these beverages”.
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