Regulatory capture – the reason I cannot buy the alcoholic beverages I want

Legislators are dictating what I can buy, with no justification, which restricts my purchasing choices and undermines the US free-market economy protected by constitutional rights.

I’ve been lucky over the last few years to have attended various conferences in states across the USA. During this time, I have met some fabulous producers and tasted some tremendous beverage alcohol products. However, when I return home and go to support these businesses, I am not allowed to have their products sent to me.

Given this is the USA, I am flabbergasted at how legislators and wholesaler associations get to hold back the beverage alcohol industry from flourishing. All US adults should be able to purchase federally approved beverage alcohol products being produced in any state and be able to send those products to their friends no matter where they are in the country.

There is not a single politician or wholesale association that has gone on the record and been able to come up with a clear or logical answer as to why, in 2024, this is the case. Using regulations that are 90 years old is not the answer.

Here are two examples of products I would love to have and share with my adult friends and yet I cannot do this:

• The first is from a fourth-generation sweet potato farmer who had the gumption to start a distillery in Arkansas. They did this to not only protect the farming legacy their family created, as vodka is a value-added product, but to bring happiness and joy to their fans of sweet potato vodka around the country.  

• The second would be a fabulous wife, husband, and brother business that have a delicious spiced whiskey, that is produced in Georgia. They are growing fine, but again if someone could provide me a reason (not an excuse) as to why in this country I cannot buy the product and ship it to myself or anyone of my friends around the country, I would love to hear it.

Again, there is not a politician on either side of the house, or a president that can come up with a single justifiable reason why I cannot buy these products and ship them to myself or my adult friends.

All this talk about the necessity of the wholesale channel is nonsense. We’ve had a successful direct to consumer sales channel for twenty plus years and a growing self-distribution channel for many, many years as well. The wholesalers' association's push to protect a single sales channel is driven by greed. While this channel does serve a segment of the market, there are better 21^st century technology driven systems that now exist to regulate sales on a micro basis and ensure compliance with all rules.

The National Direct Shippers Bill of Rights created by the Craft Wine Association, as an update to the Model Direct Shipping Bill of 1997, lays out a very simple and commonsense way as to how all states can update their legislation for the benefit of the producer, government, and consumer. We can put a man on the moon, but states cannot agree on how to get a bottle of wine or spirits to an adult across the country. The technology, demand, and infrastructure all exist to move these products from coast to coast, the only thing in the way is deeply engrained regulatory capture. The rest of the world does not have these restrictions on their producers and consumers, but apparently the USA cannot figure it out.

It's time for change. Consumers need to ask their legislators why they can't access the products they want. More producers should add their voice in support direct sales and self-distribution and not be afraid of retribution. We should not be so accepting of the status quo. In the wine industry, there is a bipartisan group called the Congressional Wine Caucus that was founded “to protect the interests of our vibrant wine community from grape to glass” but where are they in helping to grow the industry as opposed to supporting and adding more legislative burdens on the industry?

Sign up as a supporter of the CWA and the National Direct Shippers Bill of Rights. Don't just think about the issue — add your voice and support change.