Farm Bill Blues Congress has returned to Washington after its latest recess, and is scheduled to be there for the next three months or so. But that doesn’t necessarily mean many important things will get done. The Farm Bill is a sad example. In theory, it’s passed every five years, and includes some vital provisions … Read more
Surrounded by massive bodies of water on three sides and on a relatively low (hot) latitude, Florida is ideal for growing all kinds of citrus and tropical fruits, but hospitable only to muscadine grapes—which is fine, as they can produce some real good wines. The large economic impact of wine on Florida’s economy is due … Read more
WineAmerica 2024 Government Affairs Vineyardists grow grapes. Wineries make wine. WineAmerica shapes policy. This newsletter may be your main contact with WineAmerica, but in fact our main “product” is far more complex and important: shaping federal public policy to protect and enhance the business climate for the American wine industry. We recently published the WineAmerica 2024 … Read more
“The First State” proudly adorns Delaware license plates, and Swedish settlers first made wine in 1638. But that small east coast state also has the fewest wineries of any state and, alas, is now one of only three which do not allow direct-to-consumer shipping. Nevertheless, its relatively mild maritime climate is conducive to grape production, … Read more
Shutdown Averted (for now) Once again at the last minute, Congress avoided a government shutdown, and we should now be safe until the end of September. Last week’s second “minibus” appropriations measure totaling $1.2 trillion was very similar to what had been proposed and largely agreed to months ago, but delaying for no good reason … Read more