tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941731830705031230.post6427289301633583549..comments2024-03-25T02:53:48.654-07:00Comments on SVB on Wine: Neo-Prohibitionists are Alive and WellRob McMillan rmcmillan@svb.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12396624790174552807noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941731830705031230.post-74882226591768759782012-07-02T13:42:09.735-07:002012-07-02T13:42:09.735-07:00Thanks Bill. I expected someone would answer that ...Thanks Bill. I expected someone would answer that open-ended question.Rob McMillan rmcmillan@svb.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12396624790174552807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941731830705031230.post-7946457744697656762012-07-02T13:37:49.873-07:002012-07-02T13:37:49.873-07:00Rob - FYI - The Manhattan Institute is a think tan...Rob - FYI - The Manhattan Institute is a think tank co-founded by Reagan administation luminary William J Casey. The Institute's headline as of 7-2-12 reads, "Erik Jaffe, law clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas joins MI experts . . . to discuss the Obamacare Supreme Court decision." Any questions?Bill Kinzlernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941731830705031230.post-47690720549457070252012-06-29T10:40:38.184-07:002012-06-29T10:40:38.184-07:00Thanks for the mentions Jo.Thanks for the mentions Jo.Rob McMillan rmcmillan@svb.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12396624790174552807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941731830705031230.post-42782605503089037442012-06-29T10:37:38.834-07:002012-06-29T10:37:38.834-07:00"Your story, as""Your story, as"Jo Diazhttp://www.wine-blog.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941731830705031230.post-62836127606398662822012-06-29T10:36:31.284-07:002012-06-29T10:36:31.284-07:00Rob, you inspired me. Your story,a s serious as it...Rob, you inspired me. Your story,a s serious as it is, still has your style of writing that made me laugh out loud: "Full BS Mode." Who doesn't know what that's all about.<br /><br />I couldn't resist and wrote my own story, citing you. I called it, "Busy bodies, they make the world go round… sorta…"<br /><br />http://www.wine-blog.org/index.php/2012/06/27/busy-bodies-they-make-the-world-go-round-sorta/ <br /><br />Thanks for the inspiration.Jo Diazhttp://www.wine-blog.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941731830705031230.post-88838990802079422352012-06-26T11:31:43.017-07:002012-06-26T11:31:43.017-07:00Anonymous - Totally agree. What you're describ...Anonymous - Totally agree. What you're describing is an abuse of power in the one case, and a status-quo in the second. Its what we have a ballot for, but when the positions that fall into the Neo-Prohibitionist ranks, there isn't a ballot option. <br /><br />McSnobbelier - I like Nobletier, and maybe McNobletier too ... but I'll stick with the 5th Column descriptor for now. I am (no kidding) testing to see if the name can get adopted just using Social Media. I'm curious how far SM has come and seeing a term adopted would be a really interesting data point about the consumption of that information.Rob McMillan rmcmillan@svb.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12396624790174552807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941731830705031230.post-36108527365629473392012-06-25T17:45:43.289-07:002012-06-25T17:45:43.289-07:00I like the 5th Column, but I prefer calling it the...I like the 5th Column, but I prefer calling it the nobletier as in a noble way to get wine to the consumer and allow the producer and consumer to know each other and form their own relationship....McSnobbelierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13820928126030348910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941731830705031230.post-89521031534537460182012-06-25T13:42:12.866-07:002012-06-25T13:42:12.866-07:00Neo-Prohibitionists come in all shapes, sizes, col...Neo-Prohibitionists come in all shapes, sizes, colors and professions, in our small town, the new neo-prohibitionist is the planning director who is on a crusade to make the handful of micro-wineries that had licenses for few years; effectively finding any excuse to rescind their 02 permits to taste or sell wine from their premises. And of course there is always the democrat that wants to have the tax and spend coffers stuffed by the small businesses that are so over regulated by bureaucrats, that it maybe easier to shut the business down.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941731830705031230.post-35961807004919404922012-06-25T11:26:06.815-07:002012-06-25T11:26:06.815-07:00Thanks for the comment McS. I really like that con...Thanks for the comment McS. I really like that conference too and was asked to speak this year, but for the second year in a row was in Hawaii on vacation during the goings-on. Let’s see…. Hawaii or a wine conference …. yea – not a choice. But I have promised the ShipCompliant folks I’ll be available next year and will hope to attend either way.<br /><br />I suspect Rowan was speaking of the added costs involved in implementing the Three-Tier system as the real costs of making wine aren’t THAT much different. Rowan knows too well having successfully launched his Naked Wine brand in the UK, about the differences in getting wine to the end consumer now that he has launched in the US. I loved one comment he made to me over dinner one night this spring:<br />“I’ve always thought of the US as the protector of true Capitalism. You guys are worse than the EU when it comes to wine laws.”<br /><br />My response was we got our start from the British in Common Law so … It takes one to know one.<br /><br />Yes – the closing of prohibition did solve many/most of the crime problems that existed. It was the point I was making above; taxing alcohol – in the same way trying to legislate elimination of the product as we did during prohibition, won’t reduce crime. I can argue making alcohol more expensive or harder to get will increase crime.<br /><br />Our 3-tier system is crumbling from within as distributors have cooperated with DtC pioneers, and from without as well with legislation and law going against the established system in the past 20 years. The market share of 3-Tier is being replaced by the 5th Column of on-line wine business and that will reduce the costs of delivery as Rowan suggested.<br /><br />Not said in my post above, I’m not opposed to amending tax law on alcohol. I am opposed to authors who leap logic and come to flawed conclusions with a predetermined bias. But if someone wants to talk about rational reasons to increase taxes on alcohol or anything else for that matter, we all should be interested in finding ways to not saddle our children with the insane debt levels today and we should all listen.Rob McMillan rmcmillan@svb.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12396624790174552807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941731830705031230.post-41804686079609334122012-06-25T11:02:48.088-07:002012-06-25T11:02:48.088-07:00Every bartender knows that there are three dangero...Every bartender knows that there are three dangerous topics to avoid: Religion, Race and Politics. So just in general Prohibition is a bad topic to mix with any alcohol.<br /><br />You missed a very interesting Key-note presentation at the Shipcompliant Direct Conference: <br /><br />Rowan Gormley spoke of the cost of wine imbalance in the US market vs. that of the rest of the world. He used the figures of 1-3 cost of wine in Europe versus the retail price and 1-7 for the US market! He believes the US market will come closer to Euro figures in the next 5-20 years. Scary for the audience of Napa wine producers!<br /><br />Next up was John Beaudette (MHW CEO) singing the praises of Prohibition and the laws that followed repeal. He claimed that solved all the crime and violence that occurred before and during Prohibition. <br /><br />Well I found it amusing anyhow:)McSnobbelierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13820928126030348910noreply@blogger.com