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As of July 1st 2007, wineries will have gained the right to only sell 3000 cases per year directly to a retailer. While this is a step in the right direction, this is not the best solution and we will have to wait and see if the wineries decide to pursue this further.
For retailers, we have gained the right as of July 1st 2007 to again ship and deliver our products. We thank you for your support and for writing our legislators regarding these issues and will keep you advised of ABC issues in the next session of the General Assembly.
Sincerely
Doug Hotz--Rio Hill Wine & Gourmet
Dear Preferred Customers, as of July 1st 2006, retailers lost the right to deliver wine directly to your domicile and restrictions were put in place requiring a retailer who ships wine via common carrier (ie UPS, etc) to get written Winery consent to ship their brand to consumers. This barrier is intentionally restricting your access to wines from retailers and wine clubs. Currently there are over 20000 wineries from across the globe whom under the current law we would have to get a written letter to ship. This is not feasible or possible due to time and financial constraints for small business. Previously the law stated "any retail off premise licensee that purchases wine or beer at wholesale for resale in Virginia shall be presumed to have the authorization of such winery, farm winery, or brewery to ship it's brands" This logic is the only efficient and fair remedy here for both in and out of state off premise retail licensees. In addition, changes in the law affected Virginia Wineries who can no longer direct sell their product to me the retailer without using a wholesale distributor. For many Virginia Wineries, this is not an option so their wines are no longer available in our store and for others it means you are paying more simply because they are being forced to use the wholesaler. What we need is for you the consumer to contact your legislators now and voice your concerns. There is much at stake here for all wine lovers in Virginia so please forward this to all who would be interested. Thank you in advance for your support. The attachment provides more information specifically addressing Wineries.
Sincerely
Doug Hotz
Rio Hill Wine & Gourmet
434-295-8466
January 15, 2007
Good morning Virginia wineries and industry affiliates:
Please see the grassroots CALL TO ACTION email below with the request that you forward this immediately to your mailing lists, encouraging action by Thursday, January 18th. Thank you for your ongoing support.
Tonya S. Rideout
VWA Executive Director
Dear Supporter of Virginia Wine:
The wine industry in Virginia is facing a crisis. We must all act NOW to save it. And we need YOUR HELP.
Please contact your legislator by this Thursday, January 18th, and tell him/her that you are over 21 and that you vote and that you support the following four bills.
The key bills to restore the right of wineries to self-distribute up to 3,000 cases of their product annually are HB2450 patroned by Delegate Chris Saxman from Staunton and SB1062 patroned by Senator John Watkins from Midlothian.
The key bills dealing with ensuring that local governments work with wineries to establish commonsense land use regulations are HB2493 patroned by Delegate Dave Albo from Springfield and SB1205 patroned by Senator Emmett Hanger from Mt. Solon.
To find out who your legislator is and how to contact them, visit the General Assembly website at http://legis.state.va.us/. You can also keep up with the status of the bills on this site. You may also call the Constituent Viewpoint operators at (800) 889-0229 (outside Richmond) or 698-1990 (Richmond area) to express your support for these bills.
Attached are some talking points you may wish to review prior to calling your legislator.
Again, please help and call Richmond by this Thursday, January 18th, and tell your legislator you want to SAVE VIRGINIA WINES.
THANK YOU!
Sincerely,
Ann Heidig
President
Virginia Wineries Association
Save Virginia Wines
The Virginia wine industry is on the verge of a crisis. And we must act NOW to save it.
Saving Virginia wines doesn't just mean saving wineries. It means saving the vineyard owners who produce the fruit. It means saving suppliers involved in the industry. And ultimately it means saving the entire Agri-Tourism business in the Commonwealth and all those who benefit from the visitation that the wine industry draws into Virginia. And to do this, two major areas need to be addressed --- self distribution and land use restrictions ---- both of which are critical to ultimate survival. Visit the General Assembly website at http://legis.state.va.us and look at the following bills for more information - HB2450, HB2493, SB1062 and SB1205. Please encourage your legislators to support these bills.
Changes effective July 1, 2006 made it illegal for Virginia wineries to sell directly to retailers and restaurants ---
what we call self-distribution. Wineries and wholesalers are on the same side --- after all, we're both in the business of selling wine --- but many wineries are at a disadvantage simply because of their size. They're the small, family farms. They have neither the flexibility in revenue nor the quantity of product to make working with a wholesaler profitable --- quite honestly for either side. Under the current scenario, both industries stand to lose.
If the cap for self-distribution were set at, say, 3000 cases, then it would be a win-win. The wineries would be able to get their product to market --- and be able to sell it --- at a reasonable price with a reasonable profit for them. And they could grow to a size where they would be profitable for a distributor. The distributors wouldn't be burdened with trying to market small customers instead of the more profitable large scale producers. And the ultimate winners, of course, are the consumers and all those involved in the Agri-Tourism industry in Virginia. Consumers are seeing the effect of the elimination of self-distribution. There will continue to be fewer choices of Virginia wines on the shelves and what you do find will carry a higher price. It's simple economics. If self-distribution were still an option, you'd find just the opposite --- a greater variety of wines at a lower cost. Better for the winery, better for the wholesaler, better for the retailer, better for the consumer.
The other key area is related to restrictive land use issues. There are counties in Virginia that restrict the
number of customers that a winery may invite to their tasting room and in some localities it is impossible to have a tasting room at all. Every business must have customers. Why should wineries have a more restrictive business climate than other Virginia businesses? We need to ensure that county governments do not place undue restrictions on winery owners with respect to activities at their places of business. Government needs to work with wineries --- in a partnership --- in order to establish commonsense regulations that will allow the businesses to be good neighbors, while at the same time be able to draw enough visitors through special events to be profitable, and thus, successful contributors to the Commonwealth's bottom line.
Save Virginia Wines
For more information, please contact:
Terri Cofer Beirne, Esq. Liz Bryant, PR & Media Relations Advisor
McCandlish Holton, PC The Alliance Group
804-775-7233 804-225-5829
tbeirne@lawmh.com liz@alliancegroupltd.com
SAVE VIRGINIA WINES
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