For The Love Of Port

A friend of mine has a wine shop in VT. I was trying to see if he'd carry a specific brand and he wrote back to me explaining how crazy things are when it comes to trying to carry brands, no less Port at all in a wine shop there ... which he can't.

Why? ...


Roy,

Vermont is one of the so-called "control states". Anything over 16% alcohol by volume is sold by the State of Vermont through its own liquor agency stores, as those items are considered "hard-liquor" as is Port. Restaurants have to
send someone to the State controlled liquor store (with a check) to pick up their liquor. And they pay the same price per bottle as the customer off the street. Not good for restaurant patrons. A committee of politicians decides which products are carried in the state stores so needless to say the selection sucks!

For those of you reading this in other countries who are absolutely amazed or those in other states like CA where you probably can't believe this stuff takes place within the USA ... this was not fabricated. This is the 21st century and this type of nonsense can still take place amongst our 50 United States of America. :twisted:

Roy, it appears you have quite a few questionable laws in your neck of the woods...

According to http://www.dumblaws.com

Laws in WA:

• No person may walk about in public if he or she has the common cold.
• Destroying a beer cask or bottle of another is illegal.
• X-rays may not be used to fit shoes.
• All lollipops are banned.
• A law to reduce crime states: “It is mandatory for a motorist with criminal intentions to stop at the city limits and telephone the chief of police as he is entering the town.
• It is illegal to paint polka dots on the American flag.
• People may not buy a mattress on Sunday.
• All motor vehicles must be preceded by a man carrying a red flag (daytime) or a red lantern (nighttime) fifty feet in front of said vehicle.
• It is illegal to pretend that one’s parents are rich.
• You are not allowed to breastfeed in public.
• When two trains come to a crossing, neither shall go until the other has passed.
• You cannot buy meat of any kind on Sunday.

City Laws in Washington:

• Bremerton - You may not shuck peanuts on the street.
• Everett - It is illegal to display a hypnotized or allegedly hypnotized person in a store window.
• Lynden - Dancing and drinking may not occur at the same establishment.
• Seattle - You may not carry a concealed weapon that is over six feet in length.

Derek T. wrote:Destroying a beer cask or bottle of another is illegal.

Why is this questionable?

Derek T. wrote: [*]Seattle - You may not carry a concealed weapon that is over six feet in length.[/list]

Now that one is great. I guess at 5'9" tall I won't have to worry about that one

Roy Hersh wrote:This is the 21st century and this type of nonsense can still take place amongst our 50 United States of America. :twisted:

You mean the 50 not-so-united states of America?

I love my country ... it's the laws I can't stand.

Well, it's a pity that normal trade rules don't seem to apply.

(I guess that applies to my contry, too, BTW.)

I'm very thankful for living in Denmark, when it comes to these kinds of laws. In the other scandinavian countries (Norway, Sweden, not sure about Finland) all alcolol has to be purchased in government shops at (usually) extreme cost and the stuff is rationed (you can't buy 100 bottles of, say Gin). In restaurants you have to eat in order to buy a beer.

In Denmark, only "restrictions" are some taxes on the bottle (if you import a wine in a bottle, there's a tax on the bottle), on the alcohol itself, but those taxes have been lowered by the liberal-conservative government.

I don't live too far from the border into Germany, and there they have absolutely no inhibitions regarding the purchace of alcohol. I sometimes go to buy finer wines, whiskies (I don't care for whiskey, but I like to be able to serve it) etc.

Oh, one thing about Sweden that's cool is, that the government wine-stores don't charge very high profits so when f.x. DRC releases its wines, the cheapest place in the world is usually Sweden. But you still have to pay through your nose of course.

Andy Velebil wrote:

Derek T. wrote: [*]Seattle - You may not carry a concealed weapon that is over six feet in length.[/list]

Now that one is great. I guess at 5'9" tall I won't have to worry about that one

Onless you're wearing a hoodie, but then you'll look like a Conehead...

Moses , what the heck is a hoodie ?
Dan Ackroyd as a Conehead I can see . . .

Luc Gauthier wrote:Moses , what the heck is a hoodie ?
Dan Ackroyd as a Conehead I can see . . .

Hoodie is a hooded sweatshirt.

I guess we're off topic so....
A true hoodie is a hooded sweatshirt that usually has some design on it that the kids are wearing these days. LIke this one

So if I was in the "hood" , I'd wear a hoodie , I think if I was in the hood I'd be in the wrong place . . .