tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13670249.post247332930042618461..comments2023-09-27T02:20:41.375-07:00Comments on Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman™: The Battle Begins: Initiatives 1100 & 1105Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13670249.post-17414717549142190942010-10-23T17:29:15.642-07:002010-10-23T17:29:15.642-07:00Thanks John for checking in with your final decisi...Thanks John for checking in with your final decision. <br />C~<br /><br />Check out John's final decision at<br /><br /><a href="http://winepeeps.com/2010/10/22/washington-wine-lovers-vote-%e2%80%9cyes%e2%80%9d-on-i-1100/" rel="nofollow">Wine Peeps</a>wild walla walla wine womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06010888248285539144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13670249.post-20126005171935195902010-10-23T16:18:53.280-07:002010-10-23T16:18:53.280-07:00Catie, Don't know if you noticed or not, but y...Catie, Don't know if you noticed or not, but yesterday I quit "agonizing and analyzing" and decided once and for all, for right or for wrong, "Yes" on I-1100, and "NO" on I-1105 on Wine Peeps.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18053266643899584429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13670249.post-14912817887667282002010-10-21T11:57:36.802-07:002010-10-21T11:57:36.802-07:00I went into Costco the other day and there was a H...I went into Costco the other day and there was a HUGE sign letting me know that if 1100 &1105 pass I would no longer pay $45 for a bottle of name brand tequila, it would magically be $19.95 on their shelves. My first thought wasn't “Oh, wow! What a great deal!” (Though honestly, I have to admit it crossed my mind) First among my thoughts was this “At a price like that, and availability like this... I wonder how many more cops we will have to hire?” Then I followed with this thought “How can we afford to hire more cops when each bottle of tequila $25 less?” (here I am cautiously assuming that that $25 was all state taxes.) I remember hearing the TV commercials telling me that if 1100 & 1105 passed that small wineries/breweries would be pushed off the grocery store shelves. At the time, I honestly didn't understand that point until reading Catie's article here. Now, I have heard some say that well, its tough luck guys! You don't need grocery shelves to sell wine, do it from your tasting rooms. What a bummer though, that those wine bottles would cost all the more if they had to limit sales to their own tasting rooms or possibly not be available at all. What a bummer that I, here in the Tri-cities would have to drive an hour just to get my hands on a Forgeron Cellars Zinfandel, or have it mailed to me, for we all know how well UPS treats a mailed package marked FRAGILE. Another thought is this, though I have stood on both sides of the fence regarding the Walla Walla wine business, I do believe that the greater good is the industry and jobs that they have brought to the valley. I have friends who would be hard pressed to make ends meet if not for bottling wine, not for becoming tasting room associates. What happens to Walla Walla if these wineries close shop because the mounting cost of doing business grows too high? Not only would we loose access to some of the world's most sought after vintages, we would loose the folks who make annual pilgrimages for spring wine tasting weekends or winter barrel tasting weekends. Those folks stay at bed and breakfasts, those folks buy coffee at local coffee shops and espresso stands, and they eat at snazzy restaurants like the White House Crawford. They go to our farmers market and buy fancy cheese, local bread, and sweet fruits to taste with the wine they bought. I know, I know, Walla Walla's focus on the wine industry has caused some lack luster focus on other things my home town should also be giving attention to. Overall, I still believe that we should give our voting support to our local wine industry because with out it, so many people I know and love would be with out jobs, and our down town would look like the famous Blue Mountain Mall. That isn't what we want is it?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06888662339610883892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13670249.post-43492523254704579822010-10-21T09:27:42.242-07:002010-10-21T09:27:42.242-07:00The big beneficiaries are the consumers of the sta...The big beneficiaries are the consumers of the state of Washingion. Any claims otherwise are disingenuous populist appeals.<br /><br />Plainly put: I care NOTHING for the lost union jobs. These are unskilled retail positions. Every person who may lose a job at a state-run liquor store can easily find a new job at a private liquor store, or any other retail employer. This argument is irrelevant to the discussion -- other than to point out that the state employee's union has exerted undue influence over the issue in the interest of a small handful of its members, at the expense of the entire population of Washington state.<br /><br />I'm empathetic to the plight of small wineries and breweries -- but simply put, you don't NEED to sell to Costco to run a successful business. If you make a good enough product, people will seek it out and support it. Nowhere is this more evident than in the behavior of wine collectors and enthusiasts. This is Capitalism 101.<br /><br />I say: vote YES on I-1100 and I-1105. And no, I'm not a mouthpiece for big retailers, I'm just a free-market loving boozehound.Morisseauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09982983561275761902noreply@blogger.com