The other problem with the three-tier system - I am sure you have hit on this before - is that very small wineries, like THE GRADE Cellars, cannot have a sufficient impact on a distributor's bottom line. The consolidation in the distribution participants creates an even higher barrier, especially when they can do business all day long with the mega-wineries. Our only option, and it isn't an easy one to implement, is to try to reach consumers directly.
This whole conversation reminds me a lot of how the entertainment industry approached the discussion of piracy. Certainly, piracy had an impact, but it was largely a response to the global public no longer being satisfied with the distribution system as it then existed. And instead of address the cause, the industry roped in the FBI - THE FBI!!! - to make piracy a high-priority federal crime. For nearly two decades the industry would claim their losses in the capital-B "Billions" but this included countries where the product wasn't even available nor were there any plans to make it so, usually countries and/or consumers low enough on the economic scale that these weren't lost "sales", even if the ease of access to online pirated copies vs. that of the traditional distribution system was absolutely a concern.
But the issue was always about an industry needing to adapt to the times. And the conversation was never being held in good faith, with the industry inflating their loses and the damage done with numbers that never held up to any scrutiny. And yet governments across the world parroted the numbers and sicced our top law enforcement agencies on behalf of giant corporations for way too long. It's not quite a perfect comparison to the wine wholesaler model and protecting-our-own-interests approach, but there are definite similarities between the two.
The other problem with the three-tier system - I am sure you have hit on this before - is that very small wineries, like THE GRADE Cellars, cannot have a sufficient impact on a distributor's bottom line. The consolidation in the distribution participants creates an even higher barrier, especially when they can do business all day long with the mega-wineries. Our only option, and it isn't an easy one to implement, is to try to reach consumers directly.
This whole conversation reminds me a lot of how the entertainment industry approached the discussion of piracy. Certainly, piracy had an impact, but it was largely a response to the global public no longer being satisfied with the distribution system as it then existed. And instead of address the cause, the industry roped in the FBI - THE FBI!!! - to make piracy a high-priority federal crime. For nearly two decades the industry would claim their losses in the capital-B "Billions" but this included countries where the product wasn't even available nor were there any plans to make it so, usually countries and/or consumers low enough on the economic scale that these weren't lost "sales", even if the ease of access to online pirated copies vs. that of the traditional distribution system was absolutely a concern.
But the issue was always about an industry needing to adapt to the times. And the conversation was never being held in good faith, with the industry inflating their loses and the damage done with numbers that never held up to any scrutiny. And yet governments across the world parroted the numbers and sicced our top law enforcement agencies on behalf of giant corporations for way too long. It's not quite a perfect comparison to the wine wholesaler model and protecting-our-own-interests approach, but there are definite similarities between the two.