Quality Assurance Program

Canada is doing it; so is Pennsylvania; why not Illinois? At the last meeting of the IWA members discussed the prospect of submitting Illinois wines, from member wineries, for analysis. The analysis doesn’t award the wines with bronze, silver and gold but with a stamp of approval.

There is such a plethora of wines available to consumers that having a ‘stamp of approval’ could give assurance to buyers that the wine has been tested and is well worth their money. It’s a project that IWA is doing research on and was just delighted to see someone else trying it out.

1st Quarter Meeting Summary

Thanks to IWA members, our First Quarter 2008 General Membership Meeting was a great success. We have three great challenges ahead of us:

. to influence Illinois legislators to pass laws governing winemakers that protect our right to growand prosper while preserving reasonable access andcosts for consumers, and

. to introduce consumers to Illinois wines and wineries through various cooperative promotional programs, and

. to improve the quality and reputation of Illinois wines by establishing quality standards according tothe tenets of the Beverage Testing Institute (BTI).

The Second Quarter General Membership Meeting will beheld in May on a date and in a location to be determined. We will hear the reports of the Marketing and Legislative Action Committees and the BTI StudyTeam at that time.

Illinois Wine Grape Stomping on Fox News Chicago

Saturday, September 1, kicks off the 3rd Annual Illinois Wine Month! To commemorate Illinois Wine Month's third year, many of the state's almost 70 wineries are celebrating throughout fall with wine and food festivals, grape stomps, the introduction of exclusive new vintages and festive special events.

To kick things off, Scott Lawlor of Galena Cellars will be showing the Fox News Chicago morning team how to stomp grapes and enjoy Illinois’ finest vintages. Tune in Friday morning to Fox News Chicago (Channel 12) between 8:30 and 9:30 am to see the fun!

Illinois Isn't The Only State With These Problems

As mentioned in previous blogs, the Illinois Winemakers' Alliance has been working with the Specialty Retailers Association to battle HB 0429 and SB 0123. Looks like Wisconsin wineries will be fighting their own battle:

Free the Grapes! Fate of Wine Direct Shipping in Wisconsin Rests with Conference Committee, Governor

NAPA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For 20 years, Wisconsin’s wine lovers have been able to purchase wine directly from wineries licensed to do so, as well as from in-state wine retailers. But consumers will lose these privileges if the Budget Bill passes as it is currently written, according to Free the Grapes!, the national consumer grassroots coalition (www.freethegrapes.org).

“These anti-consumer provisions were slipped into the Senate version of the 384-page, $66 billion, two-year Budget Bill, rather than being considered in the light of day,” said Jeremy Benson, executive director, Free the Grapes! The association is encouraging consumers to visit its website at

www.freethegrapes.org and use the website to send personalized letters to state legislators and Governor Doyle. The organization points out three provisions that will effectively cut-off consumers from their favorite wines and wineries, and punish Wisconsin’s emerging wine industry:

· A Low-Tech Throwback to Paper Signatures: Each of the growing number of states (34) that allow legal, regulated direct-to-consumer shipments, including Wisconsin, allow electronic signature at the point of delivery by freight companies like FedEx and UPS. The Budget Bill’s language would require freight companies to gather paper signatures of the recipient and report these paper documents to the State, a process they probably cannot comply with. Additionally, the language requires that drivers collect a written “attestation” that the recipient was not intoxicated at the time of delivery.

· Cumbersome Shipping Limits: While shipping limits are standard in other states, Wisconsin’s current Budget Bill will limit shipments per individual rather than per winery, the standard in most other states. Because wineries cannot be sure how much wine an individual has purchased directly from others, wineries will not risk the penalties of non-compliance. Only Indiana and Massachusetts have included a per consumer aggregate purchase limit in their existing statutes; these two states are considered “prohibited” by wineries and FedEx. The proposed language also reduces consumer benefits of legal direct shipping by lowering the case limit from three cases per winery per consumer, to three cases per consumer (from all wineries).

· Regressive Licensing Fees. The Budget Bill is proposing the most regressive and onerous winery licensing fees of any state. For many wineries, the license fee will exceed the profit on wines shipped and wineries will be forced to cut-off consumers from their wine club programs

The next step for the budget bill is in the conference committee to reconcile differences in the budget between the Senate and Assembly versions.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on direct shipping in May 2005, consumer shipping has become legal in 34 states, which collectively represent 78% of wine consumption in the U.S. Most states have successfully implemented the model direct shipping bill, which allows shippers to purchase a permit, pay taxes, mark boxes, and consent to the jurisdiction of the state, among other provisions. Free the Grapes! is a national consumer grassroots coalition of more than 300,000 members, and supports legal, regulated direct-to-consumer wine shipments.