The American Wine Media Has Failed Their Audience

It's time for the Wine Media to talk politics

First a caveat. I love the American wine media. I’ve worked with the men and women who toil in front of keyboards, cameras, and microphones for very little compensation for three decades. I’ve learned a great percentage of what I know about wine and the wine industry directly from their work. The American wine media is, as a group, a stellar, intelligent, and dedicated collection of communicators.

Yet, in large part, they have failed their audiences.

They have failed not by eschewing “inclusive language” in their work. They have failed not by helping to make wine less complicated. They have failed not by falling into repetition. Nor have they failed by being too cozy with the industry and producers.

These kinds of indictments of the American wine media that we’ve heard for years pale in significance to the failure of the American wine media to highlight the corruption inherent in the American wine industry, to highlight, explain and condemn the archaic and inefficient structure of the wine industry, and to highlight the anti-consumer and anti-competitive actions of the biggest players in the wine industry.

In short, the American wine media has failed to educate its audiences on the corruption and failure of the three-tier system of alcohol distribution and sales and how for decades it has severely limited their audiences’ access to the most interesting and innovative drinks while driving up the price they pay.

The rejoinder to this accusation is that it is not the business of the wine media to explain the archaic and market-warping nature of the three-tier system with its rent-seeking wholesale tier, cynical laws that prohibit the direct distribution of products from producer/importer to retailer, and the restrictions that a politically protected cartel of wholesalers have helped imposed on the direct shipment of wine from producer/importers/retailers to consumers.

The rejoinder to my accusation sounds like this: Our job as media and communicators is to explain the world of wine, to uncover great wines for our audience, and to entertain those that love wine, not to talk politics that are confusing and that consumers really don’t care about. This is the job of those with a stake in changing the industry, not of those who are in the business of entertaining and educating wine drinkers.”

But if the primary group responsible for educating wine drinkers doesn’t feel an obligation to explain the primary obstacles to their enjoyment of the beverage, then it really can’t be said the wine media is consumer-friendly or real educators. This is particularly true when it is understood that the power of consumers to help bring about consumer-friendly wine laws is considerable. But to help bring about changes that make their lives better as wine drinkers requires they have a rudimentary understanding of how the wine business works — and does not work.

The article or podcast or videocast that addresses the structural and legal obstacles to what should be the simple act of consumers accessing and drinking wine is extraordinarily rare. Why? There are a number of reasons wine communicators tend to avoid the subject.

Wine regulation and wine law can be complicated. There are 50 states with 50 different regulatory and legal structures governing wine sales and distribution. Moreover, the process by which wine-related laws are put in place is often opaque and done quietly, making it difficult to track changes to the law. And finally, wine law is not sexy like Pet Nat newcomers, what to drink while sunbathing by the pool, or lists of the top ten wines for Passover.

But so is the concept of terroir complex. So is the process of fermentation obscure. So are the regulations governing how wines carrying specific appellations complicated. Yet nearly all curious and responsible members of the wine media delve into these areas and learn them.

I think a fear of getting the law and getting the politics wrong also conspires to push wine writers away from writing about the legal and political aspects of wine. No communicator wants to get that email telling them they blew it in an article, which is likely if it happens since those involved in the political wranglings around wine tend to be protective of the truth.

But it is absolutely true that the basic structure of wine law and the motivations of those who work to upend consumer empowerment are relatively simple. The three-tier system, for example, describes a rather simple and straightforward path on which wine must travel in order to come to market. The middle tier, the wholesalers, are easily understood and seen as a monopoly in most states. The rent-seeking involved in industry lobbying, particularly by wholesalers, is obvious to the naked eye.

But to see all these things, one must first look at them.

The fact is that there is relatively little in the way of educational materials about the three-tier system of alcohol distribution nor on the inner workings of alcohol regulation. For the wine media to gain an education they must sift through mostly self-serving web posts by those who benefit from the continuation and strict adherence to a three-tier system of alcohol regulation or articles from folks like me who attempt to explain the anti-consumer and anti-business nature of this system.

But if the careful writer looks more closely, they will find objective articles on how the three-tier system works, how it impacts consumers, how it influences which, what kind, and how many wines are easily available to consumers. I urge you to look closely and gain a greater understanding of the legal system governing how your audience accesses wine.

For those who are willing to dig deeper, consider these books:

The Politics of Wine, by Tyler Colman
Toward Liquor Control, by Raymond Fosdick
Fermenting Change, by Tom Wark
Gavel and Glass, by Nancy Maveety

But I also urge a bit of caution, wine communicators. If you choose to educate yourself in order to educate your readers, you will need to read and research skeptically as there is a plethora of sketchy and false information floating around the Internet on the issue of alcohol law and regulation. So, how should you go about educating yourself?

—Read widely.

—Reach out to the smartest people you know who work in the wine industry and ask for an education.

—Go to conferences where wine regulators and compliance people and attorneys meet.

—Call up the alcohol regulators in your state and talk to them about alcohol regulation. Interview them.

—Identify and then talk to proponents and opponents of the Three-Tier System and weigh their arguments.

—Do Internet searchers on “Three-tier System and Wine” or “Wine Regulation” or “Wine Law”

The extent to which the wine media in the United States has fallen down on the job of educating wine drinkers about rules, laws, and regulations that influence their enjoyment of the greatest beverage on earth can’t be underestimated. If you are a wine writer or communicator, make this kind of article or video more than just a once-every-two-year article. Keep your audience abreast of what’s happening, how they are impacted by alcohol laws, and what they can do to make a difference.

Doing these things is a responsibility that should not be ignored. Moreover, if you are part of the wine media and if you fail to educate your audience on these issues, you simply are not in a place to complain when you come across the myriad obstructions to your and your audience's ability to access the wines you want.