It's all electronic these days

received by email, of course.

Dear Dr. XX

Thank you for writing to express your opposition to H.R. 5034, the "Comprehensive Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness Act."  I appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to respond.

Congress is expressly granted the power under the Constitution to enact federal laws that supersede state laws.  While sometimes it is necessary to preempt state law for the sake of uniformity, Congress should only do so with careful consideration of the effects on state laws and protection of consumers.  With these goals in mind, Congress has long sought to ensure that states can regulate the sale of alcoholic beverages consistent with their public policy but cannot discriminate against out-of-state shippers.  In the 2005 case of Granholm v. Heald, the Supreme Court held that state schemes that allow in-state, but not out-of-state, wineries to make direct sales to consumers discriminate against interstate commerce and unconstitutionally limit direct-sale shipments. 

I have long supported the ability of wineries to ship directly to consumers.  Direct shipping enhances consumer choice and can be an important market for small, niche wineries – many of which are located in California.

On April 15, 2010, Representative Bill Delahunt (D-MA) introduced H.R. 5034, the "Comprehensive Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness Act."  This legislation would declare that it is the policy of Congress that each State or territory shall have the primary authority to regulate alcoholic beverages and that state alcohol regulations shall be accorded a strong presumption of validity when they are challenged in court.  I understand your concern that this bill could allow states to discriminate against or otherwise limit direct-to-consumer shipments from local wineries in California to out-of-state customers. 

H.R. 5034 has been referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary, and companion legislation has not been introduced in the Senate.  Please be assured that I will keep your concerns in mind should this bill or related legislation be considered by the Senate

Again, thank you for writing.  I hope you will continue to keep in touch with me on issues of importance to you.  If you should have any further questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact my office in Washington, D.C. at (202) 224-3841.  Best regards.

Sincerely yours,
 Dianne Feinstein
         United States Senator

Free the grapes!

As a responsible, pragmatic, and patriotic wine, beer, and spirits drinker of more than 20 years, I urge you to OPPOSE HR 5034.  HR 5034 serves only the interests of beer wholesalers and could overturn legal, regulated winery-to-consumer shipping working successfully in 37 states.

Just like many other wine consumers, I enjoy wine purchased from small family growers and vintners and shipped to me directly.  If I and many others didn't have this option of direct shipment, then we wouldn't be able to purchase those wines, since smaller wineries often have production too low to interest major wholesaler distribution networks.  HR 5034 could restrict the ability of small wineries to ship direct and therefore threatens the livelihood of small family growers and vintners, restricts consumer choice, and irresponsibly places state laws supporting wine, beer and spirits wholesaler middlemen beyond the reach of the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Please let me know how you intend to vote on this important consumer rights issue.


Free the Grapes

Memories of Pismo

Pismo Beach.



Beach dining.




Candy stores.


Wait. What's that sign say?



- Posted at great expense from my iPhone

Lavender Ridge and Laetitia

We attended a tasting at Lavender Ridge winery The cellar is built into the side of the hill.

It's in the Sierra foothills near Murphys, which I briefly blogged about earlier.








Later, we tasted at Laetitia, on the Central Coast. We enjoy their sparkling wines and they have a nice picnic area.

A vineyard shot of Laetitia.






- Posted at great expense from my iPhone

Gumball Alley

- Posted at great expense from my iPhone

Murphys - Sperry hotel

Murphys has a fun historic district. I only have these two pictures which don't do it justice.





More OCR using Shoot'nPaste from a plaque nearby.

OLD SPERRY HOTEL

THIS HOSTELRY ORIGINALLY BUILT IN 1855 BY J.L. SPERRY OF SPERRY FLOUR FAME AND HIS PARTNER,
JOHN PERRY. AMONG EARLY
GUESTS WHOSE NAMES APPEAR ON OLD REGISTER ARE MARK TWAIN, HORATIO ALGER, THOMAS H. LIPTON,
HENRY WARD BEECHER, THE
ROTHCHILDS, GENERAL U. S. GRANT, AND C. E. BOLTON (BLACK BART).

THE QUAINT OLD HOTEL, ACCORDING TO TRADITION, IS THE ONE REFERRED TO IN BRET HARTE`S "A NIGHT IN WINGDAM".

MURPHYS CAMP FOUNDED IN EARLY 49 BY JOHN AND DANIEL MURPHY. MILLIONS OF GOLD TAKEN FROM CAMP AND VICINITY.




- Posted at great expense from my iPhone

Columbia

I like Columbia State Park. It's an 1850's gold mining town. Visit it if you can.














Using my app Shoot'nPaste (which does OCR) I captured the following text from an informational sign on view nearby this Chinese apothecary. The OCR is sometimes very good. I edited a little.

"Chinese quickly came to Gum San (Gold Mountain), or California. Word spread rapidly
in war torn China that there was a "mountain of gold” waiting in California. At first Chinese, were
encouraged, even by the legislature to settle in California. As competition for dwindling gold increased, the Chinese were easily singled out
and laws were passed to discriminate against the Chinese."






"Chinese immigrants to California often were forced to live in specific areas in towns. Columbia’s Chinese would be confined to an area two blocks north of this store. The fire of 1857, was said to have started within the cramped Chinatown. This tragic event was used to ban the Chinese from living within City Limits. The Chinese never departed, they relocated to areas outside town.

More OCR from an informational plaque:

HAYNES MINING DITCH
As the mining vitality of the 1850s and 1860s diminished, most mining claims were exhausted. Attention turned to hydraulic mining of vacant lots
and untouched lots under buildings. The necessary
water for this operation came from a stone flume,
or ditch, constructed through the center of town in September garbled by Haynes & Co. With this ditch, water was brought to almost any lot in town."













The shops are "authentic" in the sense that the are in 1850's structures and sell themed merch. Here's a counter in a candy store:





The jail used to be the powder storage, relocated to the edge of town after an unfortunate explosion at it's former location closer to the center of town:





Prisoner contact through this little hole. Not much has changed, it appears.





- Posted at great expense from my iPhone