I am a small business owner in the wine industry. My consulting firm assists wineries – most in California – market and sell their wine throughout the U.S. The recent bill, HR 5034, threatens both my clients and my own business.

In the last 20 years the number of wine wholesale distributors in the U.S. has declined from roughly 7,000 to around 700 today. This consolidation in the wine wholesale distribution channel has increased the difficulty of small wine producers to reach markets, especially since there are over 250,000 different wines available. There are simply not enough wine wholesale distributors to be able to effectively represent and sell that many products.

That is why direct access to the market, be it to restaurants, retailers, or consumers, is now vital to the U.S. wine industry. HR 5034 blocks this access to market. It serves no other purpose but to protect wine wholesale distributors’ business, without providing for protecting and enhancing wine producers’ business.

The wine wholesale distributors claim that HR 5034 gives Constitutional powers back to the States. But it overturns the Constitutional provisions of unfettered and equal commerce between States. Such a bill that directly contravenes the U.S. Constitution is not a viable solution.

Wine wholesale distributors also claim to safe-guard against underage drinking and promote temperance. But even a cursory understanding of the wine sales channel clearly shows that wine wholesalers have no interaction with the public, and often spend vast amounts of money in the promotion of consuming alcohol. It is the wineries themselves, along with restaurants and retailers, that are the front line against underage drinking, and actively promoting moderate consumption.

Please do not let powerful lobbyists destroy California jobs with the erroneous arguments for HR 5034. The future of all commerce should be well-regulated but open markets – for both wine and other products.

I do hope that you will stand with California small businesses and stop HR 5034 from ever reaching the floor for a vote, much less ever become law. California needs its small businesses in this time of deep recession and financial turmoil.

Sincerely,

Paul Tincknell
President
Tincknell & Tincknell, Inc.
Wine Sales and Marketing Consultants since 1997

PS – This letter was sent to all three of my representatives. It’s time to stop wine wholesale distributors from buying market protection from our government. Please feel free to use any of the above in your own correspondence to your elected representatives. You can find and email them through this site: www.contactingthecongress.org.

A Reply

May 26, 2010

Dear Mr. Tincknell:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the Comprehensive Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness (CARE) Act of 2010 (H.R. 5034). I appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns with me on this issue.

As you are aware, this bill would significantly harm the California wine community, especially small wineries. H.R. 5034 was proposed by the National Beer Wholesalers of America as an attempt to increase their control over which products are sold by beer, wine and spirits wholesalers. It’s completely wrong-headed, which is why I’m working extremely hard to make sure it goes nowhere.

Before I give you the background on the bill, let me assure you – this bill is widely opposed in Congress, and I’ve been told by Speaker Pelosi that it’s very unlikely to succeed. However, the effects of this bill could be devastating to California wine and the beer wholesaler guys are working overtime for its passage, so I am going to stay vigilant in my opposition. And I hope you will join me in that effort.

What’s in this wrong-headed bill?

Simply put, this bill is an attempt to upend our country’s current alcohol distribution system. For decades, our courts have struck a balance between the 21st Amendment, which allows states to regulate the transportation or importation of alcohol, and other constitutional rights such as the Commerce Clause, which ensures the federal government’s right to protect fair and non-discriminatory commerce across state lines.

H.R. 5034 would make the dormant Commerce Clause inapplicable to any state laws dealing with alcohol unless “unjustified” and “facially discriminatory.” It would shift the burden of proof away from the states to defend laws they pass and make state laws supersede any federal law that is inconsistent with state law’s provisions. Laws like the recently struck-down direct shipment law in Massachusetts would be immune from Constitutional scrutiny.

Bottom line: this legislation allows Congress to pick the winners and losers in the wine business. It means wholesalers could have complete control over which wines consumers can access. And wineries and wine retailers would have no recourse if discriminated against.

What can you do about it?

I’ve heard from many people in our Congressional District who oppose this legislation and I am very grateful for your support. If you have colleagues or friends in any other Congressional Districts – in California or any other state – I encourage you to have them contact their Member of Congress and ask them to not co-sponsor H.R. 5034.

You can read more about this harmful legislation in Wine Spectator: http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/42526
And you can also join a Facebook group against H.R. 5034: http://www.facebook.com/STOPHR5034

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please continue to contact me on all issues of importance to you and to our district.

Sincerely,

MIKE THOMPSON
Member of Congress

http://www.mikethompson.house.gov

Boxed wines come in different sizes and prices. The most well-known boxed wines are available nationally, including Black Box (3-L), Bota Box (3-L), Fish Eye (3-L), Trove (3-L), Boho (3-L), Killer Juice (3-L), Corbett Canyon (3-L), and Target’s Wine Cube (1.5-L and 3-L). They offer the popular varietals such as Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah/Shiraz, and Zinfandel. Prices range from under $10.00 for a 1.5-L to up to $25.00 for some 3-L boxed wines.

However, there are many smaller wineries finding success in a box. They provide a fascinating and fun way to taste wines from their regions. They often are boxing interesting blends and different wine grapes such as Riesling, Chambourcin, and even Concord. One winery chose to make boxed wines because it was the best packaging for his organic wines.

First stop on the Boxed Wine Trail: Lancaster, Pennsylvania! Tamanend Winery makes a series of boxed wines that have a refreshing sweetness. One with a delicate pink hue, an exotic nose of honeysuckle and roses, and followed by flavors of peaches and strawberries is Tamanend Winery’s Wild Wine Ladyslipper Pink. Tamanend also produces a dry red blend called Cardinalis, and three other 3-L boxed wines, also named after Pennsylvania wildflowers, called Mountain Laurel, Queen, and Honeysuckle. The wines are available for $29.95/3-liter box or for $19.95/1.5-liter box at the Red Rose Tasting Room in the Hager Arcade in Lancaster City, and at the nearby winery by appointment by calling (717) 560-9463.

Terrapin Station in Germantown, Maryland, has a playful line up of eight 1.5-L boxed wines in bright colors sporting a Diamondback Terrapin, a turtle native to Chesapeake Bay. A delightful mix of varietal and hybrid grapes, the winery currently offers 2006 Cecil White, 2007 Semi-Sweet Vidal Blanc, 2007 Dry Vidal Blanc, 2007 Cayuga, 2007 Traminette, a non-vintage Merlot; a 2005 Shiraz, and a non-vintage Syrah.

Self-proclaimed “farmers”, the owners Morris and Janet Zwick donate a portion of the sale of their wines to the Terrapin Institute to help save this endangered reptile. The winery is not yet open to the public but their wines are in good distribution in Maryland, and they attend local wine festivals, special events, and tastings. Their wines and more about them can be found at www.terrapinstationwinery.com.

Located in the beautiful rolling hills of Ohio’s Amish countryside, Breitenbach Wine Cellars, Der Marketplatz, and Café in Dover sell three lightly sweet 1.5-L boxed wines for $20.00 called Frost Fire, First Crush, and Road House Red. The winery also makes a delicious dessert wine that is available only in a box called Three Berry Blend for $22.53. All of the wines can be ordered online at www.breitenbachwine.com or by calling (330) 343-3603. The winery-café-market-B&B is well worth a trip just to see the beautiful, turreted-castle like building, or to attend their famous Breitenbach Dandelion Festival each May.

Fox Valley Wines in Oswego, Illinois, has five colorfully decorated 3-L boxed wines on their website at www.foxvalleywinery.com. Their off-dry Riesling at $25.95 is the best seller, but the Old Glory Red for $27.97, made of sweet Concord Grapes,  and the White and Red Sangrias for $25.95 have loyal customers keep coming back. There is also a soft, dry 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon for $35.95. This winery is located on Route 34, and a second tasting room and the accompanying JJJitters Coffee Studio are located on Route 34 in Sandwich, Illinois. The Faltz family warmly welcomes visitors to the winery, which has a private tasting room, sitting area, two fireplaces, and a large retail store. Tours are offered on weekends.

Western Michigan is known for its famous lake effect, and Fenn Valley Vineyards (www.fennvalley.com) in Fennville, Michigan, benefits from its moderating influences. The winery produces a nice variety of 1.5-L and 3-L boxes that are sold in their tasting rooms and through select retailers in Michigan. Lakeshore Demi-Sec is their most popular wine in a fresh “German style” that is bursting with floral and apple fruit character. The wine is available at either the winery in Fennville or at their satellite tasting room in Saugatuck for $17 for the 1.5L box or $20 for the /3-L box. The Fenn Valley 2008 Semi-Dry Riesling takes its inspiration from the wines of Germany’s northern Rhine River valley with ripe, apple-like fruit impressions that is perfectly suited to seafood and spicy dishes. The winery’s 2008 Pinot Grigio is a classic dry wine with nuances of mango, peach notes, and flavors of ripe pear. Their boxed red wine is Capriccio, a big, soft, dry blend of mostly Chambourcin, with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Tefft Cellars bills itself as a “family-owned wine-country experience in the heart of Yakima County.” Located in Outlook, Washington, Tefft has had huge success with their 4-L boxes of a non-vintage Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot blend and a Chardonnay, both which retail for $24.95 (www.tefftcellars.com). They have a vibrant box wine club, which ships six times a year, and a guest house that is open to the public as a bed-and-breakfast inn. They have recently expanded sales to Idaho and to several retailers along the busy WA I-5 corridor in Washington.

Kennewick Washington is home to organic viticulture and winemaking pioneers Bill and Greg Powers and their two wineries Powers and the all organic Badger Mountain Vineyard. Longtime bag-in-the-box wine fans, they currently offer the Powers 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon 3-L for $22, and the Badger Mountain Vineyard 2007 NSA (No Sulfites Added) Organic Pure Red and Pure White 3-L for $24 and $22 respectively. These full-bodied and flavorful “everyday wines” are nationally distributed in 22 states. Their wines can also be ordered online at www.badgermtnvineyard.com. Organic Pure Red and Pure White are perfect for people with sensitivity to sulfites, and the Power Cabernet Sauvignon will satisfy any situation that calls for a big red wine with aromas and flavors of sweet raspberry, ripe currents, berries, and spices. Discerning Seattle restaurants frequently feature this wine as an eco-friendly wine by-the-glass.

Lodi, California, has always produced powerful wines with rich flavors, and the boxed wines at Le Cask are no exception. The Le Cask 3-L boxed wines sell for $24.99 in many of the best retail outlets in the San Francisco Bay Area. Le Cask’s Old Vine Zinfandel is made from 60-year old vines, and has an impressive display of blackberry, ripe cherry, and plum flavors. Le Cask Chardonnay is the perfect patio sipper, with flavors of ripe apple, pear, and a subtle hint of vanilla from oak aging. Black cherry, currant, and mocha make Le Cask Cabernet Sauvignon the perfect wine for grilled meats. Winemaker Ryan Sequiera is ardent about the benefits of boxed wines, and is willing to put them in blind tastings to compete with some of California’s best.

Sylvester Winery (www.sylvesterwinery.com) in Paso Robles, an up-and-coming wine region in California’s Central Coast, has a fun and unique way to present their five-liters of Chardonnay Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet-Merlot: in a real oak barrel with a stand. These 5-L wooden barrel dispensing units sell in their tasting room for $96, the 3-L barrels for $86, and they can be refilled for $19.99. Sylvester also sells “traditional” 3-L boxed wines of their 2006 Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay for $13.99 each.

In California, Sonoma County’s Red Truck Wines have just rolled out the barrel – literally a new 3-L Mini-Barrel to Sam’s Club nationally, and retails for $29.99. This cute, eco-friendly, and decidedly NOT box wine is made of a hearty blend of Syrah, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Mourvedre from great wine producing areas through-out California. The non-vintage wine is medium-bodied and complex, with flavors of chocolate, berries, cherries, and licorice abound. This patent-pending barrel design comes complete with rings, staves, and an easy pour spout with tamper-proof protection that requires no tearing. The Red Truck Mini-Barrel will be available nationally in the second half of 2009.

The popular 3-L boxed wine contains the equivalent of four 750-ml bottles of wine, and 1.5-L boxed wines have the equal of two standard 750-ml bottles. In comparing prices between comparable-quality boxed wines and traditional wine bottles, boxed wines typically offer a savings, and that savings is even more dramatic when you factor in the freshness factor.

Wine drinkers that enjoy and occasional glass of wine or two but don’t want the pressure of drinking a whole bottle in one sitting especially appreciate boxed wines’ unique ability to keep wine fresh after opening. Boxed wines today are attractive to anyone entertaining groups on a budget, looking for a green and eco-friendly packaging (76% reduction in greenhouse waste), or that enjoys wine on outdoor excursions like camping, boating, fishing, or backpacking.

(Note: T&T do not consult for or assist any of the companies mentioned above – we just like boxed wine!)

August 2004

Sonoma County, CA – Tincknell & Tincknell, Inc., Wine Sales and Marketing Consultants, continue to lead the wine industry in the branding, positioning, and development of the super-premium, 3-liter, boxed wine packaging. T&T and Erickson Design of San Francisco, California, teamed together to create the branding, positioning, and packaging design for Brutocao Cellars’, of Mendocino County, California, new Bliss Box. T&T has been advisory consulting firm for Amicus Cellars of Napa Valley, California, on its rollout of the X Box, including branding and introduction into their national sales markets. The X Box complements the winery’s label, X Winery, by extending their high-value, super-premium wines into the new format.

The Bliss Box is a “milk-carton” style 3-liter boxed wine, similar in shape to the Black Box (see below), but expanding the wine label design concept into a loosely thematic triptych wrapping around the box. The name “Bliss” is a family name from the Brutocao family’s ancestry, and has been used to designate a single vineyard bottling as well as a branded second label.

“The intent was to create an upscale package that had a level of intrigue in the design to motivate the wine drinker to pick it up and explore it,” said Paul Tincknell, Partner in Tincknell & Tincknell. “The existing brand in bottle had a musical theme adding a level of romance to the branding, and the box’s design refines and extends that by placing the musical element into a more complete atmosphere.”

“The fine art pieces were set against a simple, elegant box design to showcase the triptych,” adds Maureen Erickson, Proprietor of Erickson Design. “I wanted the art and the design to convey the high quality of Brutocao Cellars’ Mendocino County wines, building on the themes they already had for the Bliss label: music, family, and people celebrating together with wine and food.”

The inaugural releases of the Bliss Box will include a 2002 Mendocino County Chardonnay and 2002 Mendocino County Cabernet Sauvignon, all estate fruit from Brutocao Cellars’ vineyards. Suggested retail price in California will be $32.00 per 3-liter box for the Chardonnay, and $36.00 per 3-liter box for the Cabernet Sauvignon. 750-ml bottle versions of the same wines will sold alongside their box brethren.

During a sales strategy meeting at Tincknell & Tincknell’s office in Healdsburg, California, the General Manager and Winemaker for Amicus Cellars, Reed Renaudin, became intrigued by the benefits of the 3-liter box packaging after examining samples of the Black Box and Blackburn Fine Wine Cache, two previous T&T projects. Soon after Amicus Cellars greenlighted a test run of 3-liter boxes of the winery’s high-value, super-premium Lake County “Eutenier Sylar Vineyard” Sauvignon Blanc, “Tri-County” Cabernet Sauvignon, and Los Carneros Chardonnay for 2004. Breaking new ground in the 3-liter box package will be the Sauvignon Blanc, becoming the first vineyard-designated wine in a box when it is launched. Tincknell & Tincknell advised Amicus Cellars throughout the project, including suggesting the name, X Box. Given the suggestive name, the X Box is positioned to appeal to young, trendy, adventurous wine drinkers. The test run of the X Box will be targeted towards restaurateurs for their wine-by-the-glass programs. Like the Bliss Box, the same wine in bottle will be in the X Box, giving a restaurateur the option placing it on their wine list, their by-the-glass list, or both. The box package is ideal for BTG programs as it costs less than bottled goods and eliminates waste due to loss from old, oxidized, or cork-tainted wine and breakage. The X Box will have a suggested retail price in California of $43.00 per 3-liter box.

Tincknell & Tincknell were founded in 1997 with the recognition that the wine industry needed expertise in applying new business strategies and technology to compete in the global wine industry. Tincknell & Tincknell provide services and consultation in sales, marketing, and technology to wineries, wine industry business partners, and other companies specializing in luxury products. Located in Healdsburg, Sonoma County, T&T have assisted such clients as Louis M. Martini Winery, Groth Vineyards and Winery, Hanzell Vineyards, Howell Mountain Vineyards, Lynmar Winery at Quail Hill Vineyards, Via Pacifica Imports, Grassy Creek Vineyard & Winery of North Carolina, Dragon Seal Wines of Beijing, China, and the Qingdao Fushiwang Putaojiu Company of Pingdu, China. Tincknell & Tincknell assisted with the development of the industry’s first super-premium, 3-liter boxed wine, Black Box, with Ryan Sproule in 2002.

August 2003

Sonoma County, CA – Tincknell & Tincknell, Wine Sales and Marketing Consultants, of Healdsburg, California, and Bauermeister Design of Sonoma, California, teamed together to create the packaging for a new, upscale, super-premium, three-liter boxed wine, the Blackburn Fine Wine Cache from Sonoma Hill Winery in Graton, California. The metallic gold, embossed design took First Place in the Best Application of Single Face Laminating category in the 11th International Corrugated Packaging Design Competition held by the Associated of Independent Corrugated Converters (AICC).

“The goal for the packaging design was to create for the Blackburn Fine Wine Cache a strong, visual, upscale image that would assure fine wine drinkers of the quality of the wine inside the box,” comments Paul Tincknell, Partner in Tincknell & Tincknell. “Boxed wine has been traditionally marketed in the U.S. at lower prices with value or premium priced wine inside. Our work first with Black Box Wines and then with the Blackburn Fine Wine Cache from Sonoma Hill Winery has been to create a new tier of high quality boxed wines for wine drinkers interested in the many advantages of the box package.”

The Blackburn Fine Wine Cache packaging design originated with Sonoma Hill Winery. Tincknell & Tincknell and Bauermeister Design took the preliminary design concepts – the gold foil exterior, the embossed pin-stripe, and the existing logo – and refined it to a complete package with a strong, branded identity. That effort resulted in a First Place win in the annual AICC design competition for the printer of the project, Pacific Southwest Container in Modesto, California. “PSC, with their knowledge and expertise in their business, assisted us greatly as the design was being developed and refined,” adds Tincknell, “They deserve the award for the stellar job they did in producing the package.” “It has been an exciting and rewarding experience to work with a team of experts in developing a high-end design that takes the packaging of wine to a new level,” says Karen Bauermeister, Owner of Bauermeister Design.

The super-premium category of boxed wines is a new, emerging product niche that started with the introduction of the Black Box 2001 Napa Valley Chardonnay in January, 2003, another project Tincknell & Tincknell worked on. The Blackburn Fine Wine Cache is positioning itself as “the gold standard of wine in a box” with a 2002 Barrel Aged Sonoma County Chardonnay, a 2002 Barrel Aged Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon, and a 2001 Barrel Aged Sonoma County Merlot with a suggested retail price of around $35.00 per three-liter box. Three liters is the equivalent to four regular bottles of wine.

Tincknell & Tincknell were founded in 1997 with the recognition that the wine industry needed expertise in applying new business strategies and technology to compete in the global wine industry. Tincknell & Tincknell provide services and consultation in sales, marketing, and technology to wineries, wine industry business partners, and other companies specializing in luxury products. Located in Healdsburg, Sonoma County, T&T have assisted such clients as Louis M. Martini Winery, Groth Vineyards and Winery, Hanzell Vineyards, Howell Mountain Vineyards, Lynmar Winery at Quail Hill Vineyards, Via Pacifica Imports, and the Qingdao Fushiwang Putaojiu Company in Pingdu, China.

Bauermeister Design, established 2001, is a full-service graphic arts and design firm owned by Karen Bauermeister. Located in Sonoma, California, Bauermeister Design assists businesses in all industries in designing, developing, and producing branded materials such as packaging, collateral marketing support materials, direct marketing materials, business systems, and other corporate identity pieces.

AICC, a part of the independent corrugated industry success story for over 25 years, represents a majority of the independent corrugated packaging manufacturers and their suppliers. They are dedicated to strengthening the independent’s position in the marketplace through programs and publications that empower their members to compete successfully in a rapidly changing industry and an increasingly competitive and global business environment. The 11th International Corrugated Packaging Design Competition was held September 18 and 19, 2003, in San Francisco, California. 175 entries from 47 companies were submitted for judging in 17 categories.

January 2003

Healdsburg, CA – Tincknell & Tincknell were retained by Black Box Wines, LLC, to assist them with marketing and sales for the startup and launch of packaging high-quality, vintage-dated wines from fine wine appellations. Black Box Wines will release the inaugural 2001 Napa Valley Chardonnay in their signature black three-liter box to the Northern California marketing in January 2003.

Since the company startup in July 2002, Tincknell & Tincknell has assisted founder Ryan Sproule and Black Box Wines, LLC, with consultation in the concept, packaging design, taste profile and product development, operations, general marketing, public relations, and sales.

Black Box Wines is breaking convention by releasing America’s first, high-end, super-premium, boxed wine. In January of 2003 Black Box will launch a 2001 Napa Valley Chardonnay in their signature black three-liter box, which is the equivalent amount to four regular bottles of wine. Unlike the inexpensive boxed wines currently found in the US market, Black Box Wines will release high quality, vintage-dated wines from California’s premier wine-growing regions, known as appellations. Throughout Europe and Australia boxed wines are accepted among wine drinkers as a good deal; the savings from not buying costly bottles are passed on to the wine drinker who gets a better wine at a better price. Europeans and Australians have acknowledged that a box is better for fine wines crafted to be enjoyed immediately. The suggested retail price of the Black Box 2001 Napa Valley Chardonnay will be $24.99 or the equivalent of $6.25 per bottle. A comparable a wine of similar quality would likely retail for about twice the price.

Besides price, Black Box has other key advantages over bottled wine. The wine comes in a vacuum-sealed bag inside the box that deflates when poured, preventing oxidation that spoils bottled wine a few days after opening. There is no glass, reducing transportation costs and breakage. The box is easy to open by consumers, requiring no corkscrew or additional tool. Since there is no cork there is no possibility of cork taint.

The inaugural release of Black Box Wines will be in California, though the company plans on developing national distribution. Further vintage-dated appellation varietals, including red wines, are planned for national release in early 2003.

Tincknell & Tincknell was founded in 1997 with the recognition that the wine industry needed expertise in applying new economic business models and technology to compete in the burgeoning global wine industry. Located in Healdsburg, Sonoma County, T&T offer services and consultation in business, marketing and branding strategies; direct, internet and national sales strategies; packaging and web site design; media relations strategies; and information systems and technology management strategies.