updating the wine supply chain

Interesting opinion article on the Wines and Vines website about our country's three tier distribution system for wine.  It was written by Tom Wark who is the Executive Director of the Specialty Wine Retailers Association.  I don't know Tom, never met him but he makes a good argument to update the three tier distribution system to reflect the realities of today.  He also argues producers and retailers should be working together to update and overturn our prohibition era alcohol laws.  Reminds me of the early Internet days when the automobile manufacturers were all set to sell cars direct to consumers over the Internet.  It never happened.  The middle man, the car dealerships, had strong ties to the state legislatures and, fearing a loss of business, were able to effectively set up roadblocks to making direct car sales a reality for automobile manufacturers. Sound familiar?!  It is too bad because if it had happened, we would probably be looking at a far healthier automotive industry today, middle men included, than we are now with taxpayer bailouts, forced bankruptcies and shotgun mergers.  I hope the wine industry can learn from other industries and not repeat the same mistakes.  -- by John