By Owen Morris
Today is the first in what I imagine will be a sporadically updated series talking about the complicated and twisting alcohol laws of Kansas and Missouri.
Yesterday, I had a lengthy phone conversation with Michelle Meyer, owner of Holy-Field Winery in Basehor, Kansas. Meyer was one of the subjects of a The Pitch cover story a few years back, about how hard it is to operate a winery in the state of Kansas, with its outdated laws and a chapter of the Women's Christian Temperance Union in Topeka. I asked Meyers if anything had changed since the story ran and if the state is making any progress towards the 21st century.
Meyers said that in the past four years, Kansas hasn't come as far as Missouri or some other states but at least most people in the state are trying to help her. She went on to explain that in 2006 Kansas finally changed its law so that Kansas wineries are allowed to ship to other states — one of the big causes of angst in the article. Kansas being Kansas though, the law had a catch.
Shipping wine out of state, Meyers said, requires "a different license than operating a winery. And then each state you ship it to has its own laws and licenses, too... I've chosen not to ship wine. I just choose not to do it. I don't want incur any expenses, legal problems... it's easier to sell in my tasting room."
Another change in the 2006 legislation is that Kansas consumers are finally able to have wine shipped to them from other states. But again, there's a catch. Unlike in Missouri, where online wine purveyors can send their goods to your house, Kansas requires consumers to order the wine from a licensed retailer, then the wine must be shipped to the retailer from whom the consumer can pick it up. Also, the above only applies if the winery manufactures 100,000 gallons or less of wine.
Sound confusing? It is, and as Meyers explained, it's only worse on the retail side.
"I went to a conference in San Francisco and saw a presentation by a company called Ship Compliant. They're basically a service company and they will take care of the issues about shipping from one state to another. The reason they exist is because each state's law is so different and you've got to know it and they take care of that for you. For a price." Ship Compliant software costs more than $1,000 per year. The company does keep a blog detailing current legislation for customers and interested consumers.
Meyers also said there always seems to be some legislation on the subject. For instance, last year there was a bill that would have allowed for the sale of wine at farmer's markets (which Meyers supports) but changed the rules for what constitutes Kansas wine (which Meyers does not support). The bill didn't make it out of committee, but it was troublesome anyway. "These laws, they all have effects that lawmakers do not always see and examples will come up. It takes a while for the lawmakers to even figure out the law... Every piece of legislation I don't agree with takes my time. I would just prefer to do my job and run my business."
Would that be too much to ask?
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One never knows what may surface! I was the one the Editor of Pitch interviewed several years ago about the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in Topeka. We are still here and are still fighting!!! It is amazing that with the emphasis put on health and safety that there are those who continually promote alcoholic beverages.
"Drinking just two glasses of wine daily causes a 75% increase in the risk of developing mouth cancer....drinking a similar amount of alcohol increases the risk of breast cancer among women by 22% and men increase their risk of bowel cancer by 64%." JoinTogether You have heard that wine would help with other health issues like heart problems and liver disease, however, it is not the alcohol that does it, but antioxidants, including resveratrol, that help fight these diseases. These can be found in red grape juice. So, the state of Kansas is wise to regulate the sale of wine.
It's not entirely the bible-beating tea-totalers who are obstructing the reformation of Kansas' liquor laws. The Kansas Association of Beverage Retailers (KABR) and the Kansas Wine & Spirits Wholesalers Association maintain two of the strongest lobbying groups in the state. Both groups have successfully worked to keep their monopoly on the distribution and sale of alcohol beverages in the state.
The most recent progressive change in Kansas liquor laws--that allowing municipalities to allow Sunday liquor sales--became law only because KABR members were split geographically on the issue (those in Wichita vehemently opposed to the change, while those in the KC area championing it).
Obviously, this business of making independent winery operators distribute their product through a licenced liquor outlet (and pay that outlet a fee for its sale) has the KABR's writing all over it.
While I live in Kansas, I make all my alcoholic purchases in Missouri because it's more convenient and the product is cheaper. And I know I am not alone.
Michelle,
I thank the Woman's Christian Tempernace Union for their work.
So many people die from alcohol use each year while people make money off of the tears.
If history is any indication of the future, this year 1,717 college students will die with alcohol being officially listed as a contributing factor.
Thousands die from cancers, stroke, etc. that are the results of long time use.
Now college leaders are trying to lower the drinking age to 18 (they did not learn the lessons from the last time it was 18 yrs. old).
I am a retired Deputy Sheriff, married to a Police Sgt. We have one son that is a Police Officer and 2 of our children are Emerg. Med. Tech. We see the damage caused by alcohol use.
As the parents of five children, four of whom are currently in college, we know that parents do not work extra hours, take part-time jobs and/or mortage their homes to send their children to college to learn to drink.
People complain about loss of life due to the war on terror, We don't want anyone to die, however, many more thousands of people have died from alcohol use.
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