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Daniel Posner Of The Wine Retailers' Lobby Reacts To The Court's Support Of Wine Retailers

[Published July 3rd, 2019] By Liza B. Zimmerman

Daniel Posner, a wine merchant in North White Plains NY, is the owner of Grapes The Wine Company.
Credit: Mark Abramson for the Wall Street Journal. MARC ABRAMSON

As the drinks industry continues to debate what the new ruling—which struck down interstate shipping restrictions for wine retailers last week—I sat down with a retailer who is thrilled with how the decision went.

Daniel Posner, is the owner of the one-location, White Plains, New York-based Grapes The Wine Company and president of the board of directors of the Sacramento-based National Association of Wine Retailers (NAWR).

As the lobbying group for wine and spirits retailers, NAWR has long opposed the fact that retailers haven't been able to ship product into as many states as wineries . The NAWR as a group has long fought the 2005 Granholm vs. Heald Supreme Court decision that allowed wineries the freedom to ship into most states while retailers were not given the same rights

All responses have been edited and condensed for clarity.

Liza B. Zimmerman (LBZ):  What do you think of the decision?

Daniel Posner (DP): This decision is exactly what we, at NAWR, had hoped for. The Court ruled that Granholm and its principles of commercial non-discrimination—that led to winery shipping opening up across the country in 2005—should also have applied to retailers.

LBZ: Were you surprised by it? 

DP: Definitely not. We just didn’t know the opinion that was written would be so strongly worded in favor of retailers and consumers.

LBZ: Why is it positive for retailers?

DP: The protectionist laws in various states—that this ruling determines are unconstitutional—have resulted in significant harm for retailers and moreover, wine-loving consumers. This decision finally puts an end to those kinds of protectionist laws and it means that consumers will have better selections to choose from.

LBZ: How many retailers do you think will start to ship interstate when it is legal?

DP: The vast majority of licensed retailers have no interest in interstate shipment of wine and a very small percentage of retailers will eventually take advantage of interstate shipment.

LBZ: How long will process take in terms of enabling all retailers to ship their products from state to state?

It will take a little while, but NAWR expects to work with state legislators and regulators to put in place reasonable regulations and laws for retailer shipping. It will take some years to address all the state laws that currently discriminate unconstitutionally

LBZ: Which types of retailers will suffer and who will benefit from this?

DP: Retailers don’t suffer when some, other out-of-state retailers ship into their state. This is because consumers will almost always look locally for what they want before they buy out of state as shipping is expensive and increases the price of wine.

LBZ: In which regions are consumers going to benefit the most from this decision?

DP: This is a victory of national proportions. States that are currently not in compliance with this recent Supreme Court decision include Washington, Arizona and Colorado in the West; Illinois, Indiana, Ohio in the Midwest; New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts in the East; and North Carolina and South Carolina in the South.

LBZ: Who will be harmed by this decision?

DP: Wineries will benefit as wine retailers buy lots of wine from American wineries. If any particular tier may be harmed by this decision, it might be wholesalers. They fought hard against the Court’s decision in 2005 and hard against us in 2019. In the end, they seemed to survive then, and should ultimately survive now.

LBZ: How will this change the face of retail in the U.S.?

DP: More than anything it will lead to more innovation in the tech and marketing fields. We have been in the process, as a retailer, of overhauling our entire system of operations. I have been afraid, in the past, to make such a capital investment in the future of my business, but I had a good feeling about this case, and subsequently, I have a very good feeling about the future of my business, as well as the businesses of many of friends in this industry!

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