Wine bill may help Resturants, Stores
by Whitney Moore DM Staff Reporter February 11, 2005
A bill that would allow wine companies to ship directly to restaurants and package stores passed in the Mississippi legislature Tuesday.
In Mississippi, all wine and liquor must first go through the Alcohol Beverage and Control division before it can be sold to retailers. This bill will allow wineries to ship directly to restaurants and package stores without going through the ABC. Liquor-handling procedures will remain the same.
Mississippi is one of 18 controlled states, which are those in which wine and liquor can only be sold to restaurants and package stores through a wholesale distributor handled by state agencies, according to the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association Web site at http://www.nabca.org/control.html.
Mike Cashion, executive director of the Mississippi Hospitality and Restaurant Association, said there are currently two ways restaurants and package stores can get wine. The first way is to order directly from the supply of wines the ABC has in stock, he said. The second way is a special order process in which the restaurant orders from the wine company, it is then shipped to the ABC before being shipped to the restaurant, he said.
Cashion said this will streamline the process. He said it also beneficial because restaurants will have better access to boutique wines, wines that are produced in small quantity and are hard to find.
I think it is a good piece of legislature, Cashion said.
The bill meets the needs of the state and the restaurant industry since they will have a wider access to wines customers are asking for, he said. They are expecting a massive amount of new products coming in, especially boutique wines, Cashion said.
Cashion said they will benefit from this since it will give them easier access and shorter waiting periods for special orders. He said the general public will benefit because they are the ones asking for the wine.
Since the wines will still be taxed, the state does not lose any revenue, Cashion said. The mark-up stays the same so there should not be a huge difference in price, he said.
Jeanne Zinn, part-owner of Stars Package store, said she has heard about this bill. She said she thinks it is an advantage to both package stores and restaurants
"We can all benefit from it," Zinn said.
Since she only has a finite room for wines and already has more than 800 in stock, she said she does not think there will be a huge difference.
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