Seattle Wine Blog

This blog is dedicated to commentary on all aspects of wine, especially short entries to help you find the best wines without the usual hype and spin. These are my frank, independent opinions, usually based on tasting wine at a public event, off the shelf or at the winery. "All creative acts must arise out of a specific soil and flicker with a spirit of place" -D.H. Lawrence

Thursday, June 07, 2012

Independence Day In June?

No, I'm not off my rocker. on July 1st almost everybody was free to sell liquor - No more state liquor stores. At the initiative of Costco, we switched from liquor in state stores only, to what should have been a feast for consumers. Walgreens,Safeway, Albertsons, and Costco started selling booze. The old state liquor stores started selling under private ownership. Go figure. Chaos and confusion prevailed! Listed prices excluded all taxes including excise. Which previously had been embedded in washigton's high prices. You had to be able to figure out thirty percent more for tax. Those bottleslisted at $30, werereally going to set you back $40. Where were those promised lower prices? Where was the longed for variety? The pricing strikes me as deceptive. In California, if johnnie walker is $30, it's thirty buck plain and simple. Safeway was the most aggressive marketer with " sale" prices on virtually everything. At least Albertsons had the decency to post examples of the new pricing system. The manager at Trader Joe's told me they would have more competitive prices once they started buying direct. The effect on wine? Less shelf space. The moral of the story, be careful what you wish for. Watch those libertarian impulses. How will it evolve? We shall see!

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