Monthly Archives: March 2017

Challenging State Wine Laws: The Tanford Interview, Part 2

In a previous post we introduced Alex Tanford, the Indiana attorney and professor who played a key role in moving the landmark Granholm v Heald Supreme Court case to fruition and who is currently challenging discriminatory laws in three states that ban retailer to consumer shipping. In this post, Professor Tanford addresses questions concerning the… Read more »

Becoming An Advocate for Wine Lovers — The Tanford Interview, Part 1

For twenty-five years Professor Alex Tanford has, along with partner Robert Epstein, been using the state and federal court systems to address blatantly discriminatory laws the negatively impact consumers’ ability to access the wines they want. Tanford was Counsel of record in the Supreme Court case of Granholm v. Heald (2005) and in 18 related lower court cases addressing… Read more »

The Pitiful Selection of Wines Distributed in Texas

Perhaps the primary reason consumers benefit by access to out-of-state products is that the traditional three-tier system that puts products on the shelves in most states is terrible at providing consumers with choices. Consider the state of Texas. In the past 24 months, the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission, which overseas alcohol sales and distribution in… Read more »

Texas Tests Anti-Competitive Theory vs. Free Markets in Wine

A recent story in the Houston Post highlighted a Texas lawmaker who has recently filed a bill challenging the state’s ban on consumer shipments of wine from out-of-state retailers. In the article, Representative Matt Rinaldi said the ban “is ridiculously anti-competitive… It is protectionist and it violates the rights of anyone who values the free… Read more »