Yesterday I learned that next Saturday, July 20th, I am going to have a bit of free time on my hands. I had planned to attend the 31st annual Home Winemakers Classic (HWC), an event which I find is always a lot of fun. That was until I read in the Napa Valley Register that the HWC, a fund raiser for the Dry Creek-Lokoya Volunteer Fire Department, had been cancelled less than 10 days before the event.
The state Alcohol Beverage Commission (ABC) has shut down the 30 year old event after deciding that the HWC was breaking the law. What law? Apparently, under state law, home-made wine can be consumed only by family and friends. The state refused to issue the HWC a license for the one day event because it learned that wine produced at home would be poured and, in effect, sold. Sold? Yes, because asking attendees to pay an admission fee is tantamount to selling the home-made wines. Chris Albrecht, north division chief of operations for the ABC, when asked by The Register "if the name HWC had caught anyone's attention in the past 30 years?" "Well, no," Albrecht replied. And there you have it...our tax dollars at work.
So let me get this straight. A group of like-minded, wine-loving, tax-paying individuals agree to purchase tickets to a wine-tasting event in full knowledge that they cannot buy any of the wine, but want to attend the event anyway because they support the fundraising nature of the event. A volunteer fire department, desperately in need of funds to meet their annual operating costs, incurred when protecting tax-payer's properties from fire, apply (with applicable fee) to the ABC for a license to hold their annual fund-raiser, but this year are summarily refused. A government agency, only in existence because it is funded by monies in the form of taxes from aforementioned tax-payers (tax-payers who are also the fund-raisers of Mr. Albrecht's pay cheque), decides that it is shutting down the tax-payers fun, whilst also shutting down the volunteer fire department's fund-raising ability.
The government always knows what is best for the tax-payer, right? I suppose we all should be thankful that the ABC are spending our tax-dollars to save us from ourselves; keeping us from unwittingly breaking the law when imbibing in an illicit glass of home-made wine, all for a good cause. The mind boggles.
Breath Vinogirl.
10 comments:
Vinogirl, I wouldn't be surprised if this post excels in the comment dept.
Common-sense has long ago gone the way of the Dodo-bird.
Sadly, your tax-dollars are really theirs (big gov.)and to h*ll with what is just or right. Once I posted a note on SH's blog about big gov. and what it was doing to the Cali milk industry, but "they came for the lumber ind. and since I wasn't a member. . . then they came for the mining ind., and since I wasn't a member. . . then it was the milk. . ."
You get the picture!
If I was Bill Gates, I'd write your volunteer FD a check;-)
VG:
In NY, whenever an obscure ABC rule that has languished unenforced for quiet awhile is all of a sudden enforced, we know that a rival retailer, restaurateur, producer, distributor, or lobby group lodged a formal complaint.
This situation has that smell to it.
Twats! god bless my criminal tendencies.
Thud, I had to look-up "Twats", and a synonym offered is "Fucktards", does that follow your interpretation?
I hope your sister doesn't kick me off her blog for that;-)
Dennis...vinogirl is rather well spoken but does understand the usage of a well aimed expletive and the synonym is perfect.
Before their company's demise, the flight attendants then known as stewardesses on TWA used to ask passengers: TWA coffee or TWATea? I always said yes, please.
Thud, thanks for the reassurance!
Thomas, your sense of humor is rarified:)
Vinogirl, I was wrong about the controversial quality of this post and its ability to elicit a bounty of comments.
More than once I've heard "famous" people say: I don't care whether you love me or hate me, as long as you pay attention to me.
Well, you have us three for sure, but we are all on the "love" side:-)
NHW, Tomasso, Thud: Don't have too much to add. I don't swear, so I can't even add anything sassy. You boys seem to have a pretty good conversation going on amongst yourselves. But I think Tomasso hit it on the head...someone, somewhere was disgruntled. Now I'm off to have a cup of tea
My dear, it's about time you joined The Bootleggers' Express. We've been waiting for you all these years. And guess what I learned from the ABC myself yesterday before the San Diego wineries pouring: the winemaker is not supposed to be tasting wine when serving people in the tasting room! For the record, "I didn't inhale." Welcome to the #Bootleggers' Express!
Craig: "The winemaker is not supposed to be tasting wine when serving people in the tasting room" - is that true for all wineries in California?
Post a Comment