DC Updates
Congress won’t return to Washington until November 12, a week after the election (hopefully, the results will be official by then!), but things are still happening that affect our industry.
Michael Kaiser, WineAmerica’s Executive Vice President and Director of Government Affairs (a.k.a. lobbyist), has been deeply involved with a coalition of other beverage associations responding to the current process for updating the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). These are adopted every five years and have included guidance on alcohol, but the current process for adopting the 2025 version has been highly suspect in terms of a lack of transparency, apparent bias, and questionable science. During a listening session exclusively for WineAmerica members on Wednesday, Michael detailed the process and actions we are taking. This is a serious issue for our industry that could affect overall wine consumption patterns for years to come.
Separate from that issue, I wrote an Expert Editorial in Wine Industry Advisor highlighting the importance of the bipartisan Congressional Wine Caucus in supporting our legislative priorities and WineAmerica’s constant presence advocating for wine industry issues in DC. As I emphasized at the end of the article, the best way for you to know what’s going on and to influence it is to join WineAmerica today.
