Government shutdowns occur when Congress and the Administration don’t pass a new budget or a “kick-the-can-down-the-road “Continuing Resolution” (CR) that just keeps the old budget in place. Normally there’s high drama on the last night, right up to midnight, when usually but not always everything magically comes together. There was a month-long shutdown in the … Read more
Texas is a great example of how wine affects many sectors of the economy from vine to glass. In terms of the number of wineries, the Lone Star State ranks fifth, but it’s second in terms of wine’s total impact from wine, after California (of course). Why? Population and consumption, as opposed to production. In … Read more
This sign says it all. It’s one of many signs in all stores of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), the provincial government monopoly that controls all importation, purchasing, marketing, sales, and taxation of wine and other alcoholic beverages. The same system and syndrome are true all across Canada’s other provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, … Read more
Like many states, Tennessee had a significant grape and wine industry in the 19th Century until Prohibition wiped it out. In fact, the US Department of Agriculture recorded 1,128 vineyard acres and 64,769 gallons in 1880, largely due to German immigrants. The modern grape and wine industry began taking shape in the 1970s with creation … Read more
Tariffs and Retaliation: Wine Suffers After delaying the imposition of widespread tariffs for a month, President Trump imposed them on March 4, bringing an immediate and painful response from trading partners like Canada, Mexico and China. The next day Canada said it would immediately sever electricity to several states (MI, MN, and NY, plus parts … Read more