The Wine Knows

As you may have already read, Costco has failed in its bid to change Washington's wine distribution laws.

The bottom line was that Costco wanted to get around the state's three-tier distribution system so it could sell wines at lower prices by cutting out the middle man.

Two of my daily must-read blogs give some perspectives on this, one directly and another indirectly.

VinoFictions dissects a press release from the winning side, the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America. Needless to say, writer Thomas Pellechia takes a somewhat cynical view of the entire thing.

Meanwhile, Fermentations' Tom Wark takes the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America to task for its campaign giving and the way it uses lawmakers to control wine distribution

Both are well worth reading to get a good understanding of what is at stake in this area of the business.