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Online Wine Sellers Fight Back: ClassicWines.com Removes Wine.com from Site in Response to Recent Trade Practices
Leading web directory rallies around small merchants and consumers in outcry over shipping law gaffe. PR9.NET January 18, 2008 - Chester, PA - ClassicWines.com has taken a tough stand against its largest client and removed all advertising for Wine.com from its popular online wine guide. The move is in response to Wine.com's recent attempts to act as an independent policing body and subsequently limit competition in the burgeoning market of Internet wine sales. Richard Cartiere's "Wine Market Report" originally reported the details on the actions taken by Wine.com, which led to an explosive response among the web community. "It is far easier to sell pornography DVD's or missile parts online than bottles of wine, due to a myriad of antiquated and at times conflicting laws and regulations that date back to Prohibition" according to Mark Spangler VP of ClassicWines.com, a leading web site for wine enthusiasts and host to dozens of merchants who sell wines. "Today, I can go visit a winery, purchase a case of wine over the counter, then give it back to the cashier and ask it to be shipped to my home anywhere in the country. That is perfectly legal, but if I call or send an email for an order to that same cashier, it is illegal to ship in many states. Forcing a consumer to fly to a winery to purchase their favorite wine in person is very unfair" continues Spangler. Efforts to strike down these ambiguous laws that protect distributors and limit choices to consumers are gaining ground, especially in light of the 2005 Supreme Court case that industry advocates hope will start having a domino affect against local restrictions. "The recent decision in Texas that applied the Granholm v. Heald Supreme Court decision to retailers is a very important and significant step in the right direction" says Tom Wark, executive director of the Specialty Wine Retailers Association, "but we can't rely on that legislation alone. Distributors have significant influence on the legal system and wish to keep current inter-state laws in place. Strong reaction from retailers, and more importantly, consumers, is needed to make a difference." A knee jerk response to Wine.com has begun to leak into more serious discussions over shipping laws. Alder Yarrow's blog Vinography.com spawned over 80 comments when he helped bring awareness to Richard Cartiere's original story posted in the Wine Market Report. When asked about the current direct shipping climate and the interest his blog posting received, Yarrow explained, " the online community already shares a common sensibility about the way they want to interact with wine purveyors online. There is so much power and potential in the community of wine drinkers as a whole, and we are just beginning to see the potential of that power expressed online." Mark Shay, founder of ClassicWines.com, defends the decision to stand in support of the smaller wine merchants that he believes are the future of the wine industry. "Wine is gaining popularity today because people love to explore new varieties and new labels. Boutique wineries are popping up all over the country fed by this sense of adventure and consumers deserve the rights to purchase this product legally. We think Wine.com is choosing the wrong adversary and instead of picking on industry competitors, they should join the industry and seek to overturn the very laws that limit us all collectively." Similar opinions appear to be cropping up in every corner of the market. "Shipping laws are very difficult" explains Stephan Schindler of WineMonger.com, one of the retail industry's most respected voices. "Every state has different requirements and we end up being unable to serve all the costumers we would like. Ultimately, it makes doing business harder for everyone." With retailers chaffing under strict law and consumers growing more and more aggravated, it's no wonder that the incident with Wine.com sparked an online wild fire. As Alder Yarrow put it "I'm surprised that the smart folks running Wine.Com chose antagonism over collaboration as a means of effecting change. History would suggest, and the current public reaction to their actions demonstrates, that this is precisely the wrong way to go about fixing a broken system." # # #
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