The Wine Knows

Tom Wark of the Specialty Wine Retailers Association has issued a damning report showing alcohol wholesalers have dropped $50 million in the coffers of state election funds nationwide - and those contributions have led to the passage of laws that favor wholesalers.

Read the press release (PDF).

Read the report "Wholesale Protection." (PDF)

In the Northwest, Oregon Wine and Beer Distributors/Beverage PAC contributed $1.228 million. Contributions in Washington were much less significant. In his report, Wark lists off the biggest contributors by state and shows how that influence changed laws in favor of the wholesalers.

No wonder wine distribution in this country is still so messed up - even after the Supreme Court stepped in.