It appears that House Bill 2450 is gaining momentum. Several more Delegates have signed on as Patrons of the bill:

• Vincent F. Callahan Jr
• Frank D. Hargrove Sr.
• R. Steven Landes
• Onzlee Ware

I got the following email from Delegate Hargrove regarding his decision to add himself as a Patron of the bill (reprinted in its entirety with Delegate Hargrove's permission):

Thank you for contacting me and taking the time to express your views on farm wineries being able to ship their products. The production of excellent Virginia wines is one of the reasons that agriculture is the biggest business in Virginia. That is why I am proud to co-patron House Bill 2450, which was introduced by Del. Chris Saxman. I think this bill represents a reasonable compromise between competing interests and will enable Virginia’s emerging Wine industry to continue to grow.

Delegate Saxman's bill has been filed. It is available here. When you contact your Delegate, the bill number is H.B. 2450.

In addition to Delegate Saxman, the other Patrons of the bill are:

• Watkins M. Abbitt Jr.
• Kathy J. Byron
• Anne B. Crockett-Stark
• Lacey E. Putney
• Robert Tata
• R. Lee Ware Jr.

If your Delegate is not listed above, call/email them!

Another response to the Archer editorial, this one from David Manley of West Wind Farm Vineyard and Winery:

Our production ranks us among Virginia's smaller wineries. This is by design. We make small batches of high quality Virginia wine. Economically, it would only make sense to sell through a distributor once our production reached approximately five times our current level. We don't want this to keep us from achieving broader exposure for our product in the local and regional marketplace.

We have been approached by several restaurants and specialty retailers seeking to carry our products. We'd love nothing more than for a nearby restaurant to offer local wine. Or for a fan of our wines in Blacksburg to be able to shop locally so that he or she doesn't have to drive to Fort Chiswell. If we had to sell through a distributor, our product would certainly cost significantly more once it reached a restaurant table or store shelf, resulting in harm to Virginia consumers.

WWAs for this weekend:

• Loudoun Valley Vineyards is hosting their first winter soup day. A glass of wine, a bowl of Montreal Seven Onion Soup and French Bread for $12.50.


• Tarara is hosting one of their Winter Blues' Blues. Good local Blues and Jazz bands and good wine.

Light list this weekend, things will pick up soon.

Tom Wark, at Fermentation, has created the American Weblog Awards. This is a great idea. There are lots of wine blogs out there that are deserving of recognition. Let's hope some of the best get nominated.

Same questions that I posed to Peaks of Otter Winery, but this time the answers are from Dave Gibbs from Virginia Mountain Vineyards a new winery that produces 400 cases a year.

1. How has the change in self distribution laws affected your winery and your business?
   
   As a new winery (July 1, 2006) that produced 400 case of wine last year, I have been unable to get my wines into any local restaurants and stores. No distributor will market my wines. Even if they were willing, there is no way the winery could afford a 35% markup that the distributors want.
   


2. Can you break down the cost differences between self distribution and distribution through a wholesaler?
   
   Local market delivery costs for me are negligible versus the cost involved by using a distributor. I can market wine valued at $1000 retail for less than $50 versus the approximate $350 a distributor would cost.
   


3. Wholesalers have claimed that all of the festivals around Virginia give wineries ample opportunity to sell their wines, what is your take on that argument?
   
   A festival is a very expensive one or at most two day event for the winery to participate in. It does provide a good opportunity to introduce our wines into a new location and helps, in most cases, a noteworthy charity or benefit. This is however, an extremely limited situation to get our wine to new and distant locations. After the event is over, we have no local retail outlet for new customers. People who buy the wines at these festival locations 50 to 200 miles from the winery want to know what local retail outlets are near them for wine availability. We have to tell them that they have to travel to the winery for any purchases. The limited number of festivals are no replacement for everyday shelf presence in wine shops, convenience stores or other retail outlets.
   


4. Along the same lines, the argument has been made that wineries can simply set up their own wholesalers, is there any reason why this is not practical?
   
   Wineries and their owners are prohibited by Virginia law from from setting up a wholesale company. A totally unconnected individual must form a distributorship. Once contracted, the wine franchise act basically locks the winery into a lifetime agreement with little, if any recourse should the relationship turn bad.
   


5. I realize the text of the legislation has not been released, but based on what you have read, what is your opinion of the bill Senator Watkins and Delegate Saxman are planning to introduce?
   
   The proposed Watkins/Saxman bill is a fair approach for all concerned. It allows limited equal market access for all wineries, no matter size and preserves the three-tier system for distributors. It allows the small or new farm winery a chance to get their wines into the market where no chance realistically exists today. This is not the ideal solution for an archaic and state mandated monopoly for wine distribution which is long overdue for abolishment, but is a significant compromise.
   

I wanted to get the perspective of one of the farm wineries that the Watkins-Saxman legislation would impact. Danny Johnson, from Peaks of Otter Winery, agreed to be interviewed. I want to extend my thanks to Danny for providing this very insightful information. Hopefully, this helps further demonstrate why this bill is so important:

1. How has the change in self distribution laws affected your winery and your business?
   
   We have grown our business slowly, mostly paying for improvements as we grew. We had grown to the point that we needed some one part time help to help sell and deliver our wines. The young man that we hired not only did this put helped out with other things on the farm. We had also doubled our winery sq. footage by building a new building that we had started in November of 2005. After July 1, without our wholesale sales we had to lay off our new person. Our building is at the present just an added expense that we really do not need. We had stocked all of our wine shops before July, and every day I get calls because they are running out. From this time forward is when we will start feeling the impact.
   


2. Can you break down the cost differences between self distribution and distribution through a wholesaler?
   
   It is very simple.
   You have a wine that retails for $15
   We would wholesale it to the retailer for $10 or 1/3 off. The retailer could then put his percentage on the wine bringing it back up to around $15. This same bottle would have to be sold to a distributor (if they would take it) for $7.50 they then add their markup and other charges and sell it to the retailer.
   
   Most small wineries are not making the volume to be able to take that off the bottom line so if it was sold to a distributor for $10 and he sold it to the retailer for $15 then the consumer would have to pay $22.50.
   
   Maybe it is not so simple.
   


3. Wholesalers have claimed that all of the festivals around Virginia give wineries ample opportunity to sell their wines, what is your take on that argument?
   
   We had festivals around Virginia before July 1 2006.
   We could wholesale our wine before July 1 2006.
   We had sales in our tasting rooms before July 1 2006.
   Would the distributors or any other business like to lose one of the above lines?
   


4. Along the same lines, the argument has been made that wineries can simply set up their own wholesalers, is there any reason why this is not practical?
   
   This is called the "mother-in-law" act.
   I would only hope that a distributor has a great marriage when he turns all of their business over to his mother-in-law.
   No one in their right mind is going to form a business and put it in someone else's name. Winery stockholders, owners, partners cannot get this license. You will have double insurance, double trust and probably double trouble not counting the costs. I have heard around 10 grand.
   


5. I realize the text of the legislation has not been released, but based on what you have read, what is your opinion of the bill Senator Watkins and Delegate Saxman are planning to introduce?
   
   I would have like to have seen some other things added but as it stands I think it is a fair bill to all parties.
   The way I understand it. Any winery can sell up to 3000 cases per year to licensed Virginia retailers. The wine must be delivered by a winery employee in a winery vehicle.
   
   We think that it is do or die for a lot of small wineries this year. We will survive but a lot of our friends can not make it. Our Delegate had hopes that the distributors and wineries could work out a solution before session. It would be beneficial to all parties if the distributors could come on board with the Saxman-Watkins law and in return the wineries could stand united with them if and when the three tier system and the wine franchise law comes under attack.
   

Wine by candlelight because it is romantic is one thing, but wine by candlelight because that is the only light? This Thursday Club BV* is hosting a wine tasting at Gadsby's Tavern. Gadsby's Tavern is an historic building in Alexandria that was frequented by George Washington. They have kept the dining room in its original state...Including no electricity.

I'll be there.

To make it a little easier for everyone to contact their Delegates and Senators here are a some links:

• Delegates' Email Addresses
• Delegates' Phone Numbers
• Senators' Email Addresses
• Senators' Phone Numbers

Here is a list of districts for members of the House of Delegates and the same list for Senators.

Virginia does have a representative lookup form, but as of this morning it was not working.

Remember to be respectful and succinct when writing your representative. They probably have not seen the legislation at this point, but you can ask them where they stand on self distribution. If you do get a response, either by phone or by email, I would love it if you would let me know. I am going to start tracking where people stand and post table with that information.

The next month is probably going to have a large number of politically oriented posts. Virginia's short legislative session starts on the 10th and we have less than 30 days to get this bill to the floor for a vote. I know most of you come here for reviews and to know what is going on in the world of Virginia wine, but this is important for the future of Virginia wineries, so bear with me.

In the meantime, I have a Cabernet Franc showdown for you all:



Wine: 2000 Horton Cabernet Franc

Review: This wine is a blend of 90% Cabernet Franc, 6% Touriga Nacional and 4% Tannat. It is a spicy Cabernet Franc, which is how I prefer them, but it has mellowed with age and it has a smooth finish with very light tannins. It was aged 18 months in French and American Oak adding a layer of complexity.

Virginia makes great Cabernet Francs and this is one of the best, and it is a great value.

Price: $12

Grade: 95

Wine: 2001 Ingleside Cabernet Franc

Review: I hate to be 3rd grade, but everytime I see the Ingleside domain name I feel the need to chuckle. This wine was a Gold Medal winner at the 2004 Annual Virginia Wine Competition. This is also a spicy Cabernet Franc with hints of tobacco, coffee and Cinnamon.

This wine is a blend of 82% Cabernet Franc, 12% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot. The wine was aged 23 months, which smoothed out the blend, without taking away any of its complexity. Overall a good wine.

Price: $18

Grade: 90

I contacted Delegate Chris Saxman one of the legislators responsible for the new wine distribution bill and asked him some questions based on the articles I have read thus far. I am also attempting to get in touch with a representative from the distributors to get their take on the bill.

The questions and answers follow:

1. How does this legislation differ from the bill that was tabled last year? Will those changes be enough to allow this bill to come to the floor?
   
   Last year's bill had a cap on the size of the winery; This year's has a cap on the amount of distribution, allowing all wineries some self distribution. We can only hope there is the political will to get this bill out of the General Laws ABC subcommittee and committee to a floor vote.
   


2. How do you answer criticisms from alcohol distributors that this law will disrupt the three-tier distribution system that is in place? In line with that, do you feel that Virginia's wineries are being given special consideration in relation to micro-breweries and other alcohol producers?
   
   This bill supports and compliments the three tier system. Wineries that choose not to self distribute or that distribute more than 3,000 cases annually will have to use the three tier system. Recall that farm wineries had been self distributing for 25 years with no negative impact on the three tier system.
   
   I am unaware that the micro brewers have suffered the impact the wineries have and don't know if they have the difficulty that small wineries have finding wholesalers willing to distribute their products. Some have had family members create wholesalers to sell their products. This solution has been suggested to the wineries by the wholesalers, but is extremely expensive and complicated.
   


3. One point that is not clear from the news articles I have read: Does the 3,000 case cap apply only to wine distributed in the state of Virginia, or does it apply to total number of cases produced by a winery?
   
   The 3,000 case limit applies to the amount that wineries, in or out of state, can self distribute. Any winery of any size we be able, we hope, to self distribute up to that amount in Virginia
   


4. Senator Watkins said the point of the bill was to nurture these wineries until they reach a certain size. Is that size defined strictly by case distribution, or are there other factors in the bill?
   
   In practice, most Virginia wineries hire an independent wholesaler by the time they produce 6,000 to 7,000 cases per year. If they are making that much, they are selling about 3,000 cases in their tasting room and at festivals, and 3,000 cases by self distribution. Economies of scale suggest that they can afford a wholesaler at that level and that a wholesaler will be interested in assuming responsibility for the brand and market demand they have created. Also, the usually don't have the manpower/vehicles to transport much more than 3,000 cases of wine per year.
   


5. Finally, there will undoubtedly be a lot of support for this bill from readers of this site, is there anything they can do to help push this legislation in the Virginia House and Senate?
   
   Call your legislators and ask them to support the farm wineries.
   

As promised, I have some thoughts on the self-distribution legislation proposed by Delegate Chris Saxman and Senator John Walkins. This article by Bethany Fuller in The News and Advance seems to be the most comprehensive.

The gist of the bill, as described (NOTE: I have not seen the text of the bill yet) is that ANY winery that distributes less than 3,000 cases annually in the state of Virginia will be allowed to operate without a distributor. Wineries that produce less than 3,000 cases can still use a distributor if they choose, and most out of state wineries probably will.

The average Virginia winery produces 2,500 cases a year.

This is similar to a bill that was tabled last year, but it seems to have more support this time around. What makes this different than Virginia's old system is that it applies equally to all wineries, thus avoiding the Constitutional problems that plagued the old bill.

I am trying to get my hands on the full text of the legislation, I will post it as soon as it is available.

In the meantime, if you live in Virginia, contact your state representatives and tell them you support this bill!

A cautious W00t! over this story. I have not read the legislation, but I will do some research today and post a more details analysis tonight.

h/t to reader Ben for the link.

Wine: 2005 Inama Vin Soave Classico



Review: "What wine goes with Vodka?" This is the question I posed to my wine seller fully expecting him to falter. I was making a pasta dish with vegetarian meatballs and Vodka sauce for a friend and I wanted the perfect wine to complement it. Without batting an eye he recommended this wine and it was an excellent choice.

This wine is from the Garganega grape and it has a light fruity taste, but it is more complex than most Italian whites. It was light on the palette, with a hint of almond aftertaste. It was a good wine that matched the Vodka-sauce without overpowering it.

Price: $15

Grade: 85

I've been remiss in posting my recent reviews and the empty bottles are starting to gather dust on my counter....So, I am going to try to get them updated today.

These two reviews are grouped together not because of the wine, but because I got to share the wine with my new favorite wine buddy.

Wine: 2003 Marques de Caceres Crianza



Review: La Tasca is my favorite Tapas restaurant in the DC area. They have a great selection of Tapas and a relatively deep wine list (and a great Sangria list).

Normally, when I go out to eat I like to sample different bottles of wine with dinner, but this particular wine was so good we wound up splitting two bottles.

Unlike most reds, this wine was actually very red in color, some reviewers describe it as ruby, but I didn't think it was that red. It is a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha and Graciano grapes which provide a unique, spicy taste with a hint of berries that blended well with a variety of Tapas. It had a smooth finish that made it very enjoyable and accented the taste of the food.

Price: $30 (est $15 in a wine shop)

Grade: 90


Wine: 2004 Vampire Pinot Noir



Review: A wine from Romania? This was a first for me, but I could not turn down the opportunity...Especially with such a cool name and label -- A Transylvania Import no less!

This bottle was shared over lunch at Stella's in Alexandria. I tend to shy away from Pinot Noirs, but this was surprisingly good. The wine was a deep red color (blood red, perhaps ;)) and it was surprisingly light. It had hints of strawberries and oak. It was a smooth tasting wine, clearly young but not tannic at all. The wine appears designed to drink as an early, light wine and I am not sure how it will age.

Price: $25 (est $10-$15 in a wine shop)

Grade: 85