There is a real threat to wineries and winemakers brewing in Congress. Alcohol wholesalers have convinced lawmakers to introduce House Resolution 5034. If passed into law, H.R. 5034 would give states the right to ban wine shipping without having to defend themselves in court. In essence, H.R. 5034 takes state alcohol laws outside the orbit of the the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause, it is that provision of the Constitution that led the Supreme Court in 2005 to overrule the plethora of discriminatory wine shipping bans that existed across the country.
This bill would devastate wineries, particularly those that rely on direct to consumer shipping, and of course, it is an attack on consumers who merely want to obtain wines by mail that they cannot find locally.
I urge you to help oppose H.R. 5034. You can do so by immediately using Free The Grapes "Write Your Congressperson" system to send off a letter to your representative: http://www.capwiz.com/freegrapes/issues/alert/?alertid=14948676&type=CO
In addition, if you are on Facebook I urge you to become a fan of the STOPHR5034 page to get regular updates on the bill: http://www.facebook.com/STOPHR5034
The proponents of H.R. 5034 work for the beer and wine wholesalers and are extremely powerful. They are working very hard to get this bill passed. Without an aggressive effort those that value free trade and the ability for consumers and wineries to interact with each other, many wineries will be hurt and consumer rights lost.
Stefania and I have worked very hard to build our winery from the ground up and this bill would be devastating to ourselves and other small family wineries that count on people like you to buy our wines.
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I sent messages through the "Free the Grapes" site a few days ago. It was fast and it allows you the option of using their template, using their template with your edits or writing your own letter. It was less than 5 minutes out of my day - I would urge everyone who reads this blog, everyone who loves wine, everyone who understands that small business is the backbone of our economy, please take five minutes to make your voice heard and do what you can to prevent big business greed from destroying the hard work and dreams of small winery owners.
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