Thank you. This was such a bad move, the WI should be ashamed of their position on this subject matter. I hope their membership take a close look at this and decide if this is the right organization to be part of.
Thanks for getting into the gears on this topic. It's layered in bureaucracy, procedure, politics, corporate interests and of course, money. There won't be an easy fix, it won't happen overnight, and time favors the larger structures in this case.
The only wrinkle that's happened in California is the departure of RNDC. When major suppliers to RNDC began to leave, that changed their calculus for being in the state, not legislation. Naturally, those largest suppliers immediately found another distributor, thus consolidating power in the state. The smaller suppliers may still not have distribution in the state or have gone to the brokerage market. It could be giving more weight to your argument and point, oligarchy in the state among the largest suppliers of alcohol.
Yes, the failure of RNDC does show how bad the current mandated structure is. The BIG always come out okay, those smaller producers in CA have a huge advantage over other states with the ability to self-distribute. Any structure that stops sales by a producer because a layer fails is simply a bad strucutre.
I can sell directly to anyone I want in CA. It's great and I've used a broker sparingly in my state. It can be geographically limiting, but one has to recognize that early. Secondly, it's highly unlikely that small producers like me will ever get into chains, small or large, without a broker or distributor. Local grocery and small chains in a tight geographical area are possible, but one has to know the structure around those entities. Again, big will beat small, because big (and distributed) can do deals with the grocery on price and incentive that I cannot.
Shipping, since COVID, has only gotten more expensive. Direct, from the winery, one case from Windsor to San Diego will likely be about $60, which eliminates all but the most expensive wine I can ship. A $150/case has no money it to ship. A broker might be able to do that for $25 in-state, but that depends on fuel surcharges and warehouse fees depending upon velocity. And the broker will likely take 20% of the total sale, so you're back to where you started, about $60 total on a $150/case doesn't pay a small winery anything. Unprofitable.
Yep in CA you are truly lucky as you have the choice. Most in other states do not have a choice. The starting point is choice, when you have that flexibility then innovation will flourish more as it is already with better last mile delivery services. The market will solve the issues, but you have to create a free market structure first.
Yeah, I know a lot of states have limited options.
Last mile delivery is considered "free" to nearly everyone, thanks to Amazon. That has not been a good thing for wineries. And consumers don't seem to like being charged delivery fees on a case of wine, so we purposely mark up the product and then we are called too expensive or profiteers for charging $75 for that box to be delivered.
The truth is coming in the future...Good writing and POV Steven. Cheers!
Thank you. This was such a bad move, the WI should be ashamed of their position on this subject matter. I hope their membership take a close look at this and decide if this is the right organization to be part of.
WI = Big Wine Busine$$ org.
Thanks for getting into the gears on this topic. It's layered in bureaucracy, procedure, politics, corporate interests and of course, money. There won't be an easy fix, it won't happen overnight, and time favors the larger structures in this case.
The only wrinkle that's happened in California is the departure of RNDC. When major suppliers to RNDC began to leave, that changed their calculus for being in the state, not legislation. Naturally, those largest suppliers immediately found another distributor, thus consolidating power in the state. The smaller suppliers may still not have distribution in the state or have gone to the brokerage market. It could be giving more weight to your argument and point, oligarchy in the state among the largest suppliers of alcohol.
Yes, the failure of RNDC does show how bad the current mandated structure is. The BIG always come out okay, those smaller producers in CA have a huge advantage over other states with the ability to self-distribute. Any structure that stops sales by a producer because a layer fails is simply a bad strucutre.
I can sell directly to anyone I want in CA. It's great and I've used a broker sparingly in my state. It can be geographically limiting, but one has to recognize that early. Secondly, it's highly unlikely that small producers like me will ever get into chains, small or large, without a broker or distributor. Local grocery and small chains in a tight geographical area are possible, but one has to know the structure around those entities. Again, big will beat small, because big (and distributed) can do deals with the grocery on price and incentive that I cannot.
Shipping, since COVID, has only gotten more expensive. Direct, from the winery, one case from Windsor to San Diego will likely be about $60, which eliminates all but the most expensive wine I can ship. A $150/case has no money it to ship. A broker might be able to do that for $25 in-state, but that depends on fuel surcharges and warehouse fees depending upon velocity. And the broker will likely take 20% of the total sale, so you're back to where you started, about $60 total on a $150/case doesn't pay a small winery anything. Unprofitable.
Yep in CA you are truly lucky as you have the choice. Most in other states do not have a choice. The starting point is choice, when you have that flexibility then innovation will flourish more as it is already with better last mile delivery services. The market will solve the issues, but you have to create a free market structure first.
Yeah, I know a lot of states have limited options.
Last mile delivery is considered "free" to nearly everyone, thanks to Amazon. That has not been a good thing for wineries. And consumers don't seem to like being charged delivery fees on a case of wine, so we purposely mark up the product and then we are called too expensive or profiteers for charging $75 for that box to be delivered.