This is Some Camel!

Remember the joke about a camel being a horse that is designed by a "committee"? Well, they have been busy in Indiana lately designing a "horse"! The full story is here. Here is an excerpt:

House members on Thursday approved a tentative compromise dealing with the ability of in-state wineries to ship directly to consumers – but no one was exactly happy.

Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Howe, chairman of the House Public Policy and Veterans Affairs Committee, said the amended House Bill 1190 is a work in progress and the result of initial dialogue between all the players. The committee passed the bill unanimously, sending it to the entire House.

Indiana wineries want permission to ship directly to in-state customers – a business practice taken away by the Alcohol Tobacco Commission last year after a U.S. Supreme Court decision.

But the matter is complicated because both retailers and wholesalers – two components of a three-tier alcohol delivery system – don’t want to be left out of the loop.

Under the bill, a consumer would order and pay for wine from an in-state winery, which would then call its local wholesaler. That wholesaler would be required to pick up the wine within two days from the winery. The winery would pay the wholesaler a fee not exceeding $2 per bottle or $4 per case, which would be built into the customer’s cost.

Then the wholesaler would deliver the wine to a local package liquor store within five days where the consumer would pick up the wine. The consumer also must pay a fee not exceeding $2 per bottle or $4 per case to the store.

I can't wait to see how this gets worked out!