WIGS Means Wine for Ecstactic Tennesseans but a FUBAR for Food Stores

Wine

Vicki Schmidt, Paralegal at Bone McAllester Norton

D Day for wine in Tennessee came with great fanfare.  Volunteer State Vinophiles celebrated July 1 like it was 1999.  Here is alcoholic beverage team member Vicki Schmidt purchasing the fourth bottle of wine on July 1 from her local Walmart.  Vicki got in line before 8 am to be the first, but was scooped.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Its hard for folks out of state to understand the excitement.  We got tons of photos, texts and e-mails from friends that made a special point of buying wine before going to work.  Here is one of our favorite clients, Rebecca Ramsey from the Nashville airport – BNA to those on the inside – with her buddy Devi Sanford, making history.

Wine Buds

Devi Sanford with Airport Authority’s Rebecca Ramsey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WIGS D-Day conjures up one of our favorite tunes:

I was dreamin’ when I wrote this
Forgive me if it goes astray
But when I woke up this mornin’
Coulda sworn it was judgment day
The sky was all purple,
There were people runnin’ everywhere
Tryin’ 2 run from the destruction,
U know I didn’t even care

‘Cuz they say two thousand zero zero party over,
Oops out of time
So tonight I’m gonna party like it’s 1999
In our humble opinion, the Tennessee ABC and industry members pulled off a minor miracle to license the sale of wine by July 1.  In the wake of licensing efforts, there are a number of important questions to resolve for wine sales.  The industry is working with the Tennessee ABC to resolve these.

One question we hear a lot is what can a food store legally sell.  Wine is very narrowly defined for food stores and the following cannot be sold:

  • Fortified alcoholic beverages, like port alcoholic beverages and sherry.
    • MD 20/20, Thunderbird, Night Train and Wild Irish Rose are all under the maximum strength of alcoholic beverages and can be sold at food stores
  • Alcohol derived from alcoholic beverages that has had substantial changes to the alcoholic beverages due to the addition of flavorings and additives
  • Spirits like whiskey, vodka and rum
  • Liqueurs and cordials like Frangelico, Schnapps, Baileys and Grand Marnier
  • Sake
  • Beer over 5% alcohol by weight or 6.25% alcohol by volume – known as High Gravity Beer in Tennessee

 

As we read the law, wine coolers cannot be sold by food stores, because the wine is substantially changed by sweeteners and usually flavorings.  Industry members are generally in agreement that wine coolers should not be sold at food stores, unless the ABC makes a rule that allows the sale.

Source: https://lastcall.bonelaw.com

Jul, 07, 2016

  ABL, Alcoholic Beverage Law, Tennessee ABC, TN Manager Permit, Vicki Schmidt, WIGS, will cheek

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