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More Knoxville Magazine - June/July 2009

• From the editor: June issue of Knoxville Magazine
• UT football coach Lane Kiffin and his family get settled in Knoxville
• Luxury Inn Blackberry Farm gets back to its roots

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A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things.

- Song of Solomon

The cynics among us might think the spirit of recent legislative disagreements and public relations salvos concerning the sale of wine in Tennessee grocery stores is well captured in a certain reading of the Solomonic adage recognizing the primacy of money in human relations. And while wine can indeed induce mirth, when mixed in a political cauldron with opposing economic and (let's temper our cynicism) social concerns it tends to take on a hint of Steinbeckian flavor.

The latest efforts at passing state legislation allowing the sale of wine in Tennessee grocery stores (SB120 and HB1157) were shelved by its sponsors in mid-April after it became clear the measure would not get the votes necessary for it to pass. Still, the bills got a slightly better reception than in years past. Sen. Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) and Rep. David Shepard (D-Dickson), key sponsors of this latest legislative session's bill, are initiating a special joint House and Senate study committee to review the state's entire alcohol control operations and produce a report for the Legislature in July 2010. Ketron reportedly indicates this timeline means a broader alcohol bill will likely be introduced in the next General Assembly in 2011.

"The problem is, we have this three-tier system, and it's been in existence since the 1930s," says Rep. Shepard. "So you're talking about potentially dismantling a system that's been in existence a long time. There are parts of the system that are very unfair, but it's more complicated than just passing this law."

Tennessee's three-tiered system of alcoholic beverage control was created in 1937 following the repeal of national Prohibition laws. Under its strict dictates, manufacturers must sell to distributors and distributors to retailers. Grocery stores can sell beer but not wine or liquor while liquor stores can't sell beer, other than special ales with higher alcohol content. This arrangement makes Tennessee one of only 17 states to disallow the sale of wine in retail food stores. Neighboring states North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Virginia are among those where grocery stores are allowed to sell wine.

The slight improvement in the wine-in-supermarkets legislative atmosphere this year may be the result of more vigorous lobbying and marketing efforts initiated primarily by the Tennessee Grocers & Convenience Store Association. The organization's Red White and Food campaign issued press releases and put 6-foot-tall cardboard cutout wine bottles with reply cards in more than 100 Tennessee grocery stores. The association also established a strong online presence including an informative Web site, an e-mail newsletter, a blog, a Facebook group and a Twitter feed. TGCSA, along with The Tennessee Retail Association, claim its customers want the convenience of buying wine in food stores, that increased competition in the market would mean lower costs for their customers, and that grocers and other retailers have proven their ability to sell alcoholic beverages responsibly. Furthermore, the group, which also includes The Tennessee Farm Winegrowers Association and The Wine Institute, points to the state Legislature's recent Fiscal Review Committee finding that estimates allowing wine sales in grocery stores would mean $16 million in annual new revenue for the state and $11 million for local governments.

"Our retail members are interested in selling wine in their stores because their customers are interested in it," says Jarron Springer, president of Tennessee Grocers & Convenience Store Association. "It's something consumers have asked for from our retailers for many years. We put together the Red White and Food campaign to give consumers a platform to speak to the Legislature. We've come a long way in two years, and we'll continue our efforts. It's a slow moving process."

The Tennessee Wine & Spirits Retailers Association, Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of Tennessee, Association of Chiefs of Police and several Baptist-affiliated organizations are among those that want to see things remain as they are as regards the sale of wine. These organizations, an odd bunch of political bedfellows at first glance, snuggle up around the belief that allowing wine to be sold in grocery stores would result in increased underage drinking. TWSRA also notes that such legislation would be detrimental to the 550 small, one-store wine and spirits business owners in Tennessee.

"It's really a case of the big guys wanting to squash the little guys," says Thad Cox, Jr., owner of Ashe's Wine & Spirits on Old Kingston Pike and member of the board of the Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Association. "It would create an un-level playing field. And it would knock out jobs for independent wine and spirits store owners. Talk to any store owner in the state; they say they'd have to lay people off." Cox also worries about the underage drinking aspect of the issue and questions the positive economic impact touted by those supporting the sale of wine in grocery stores.

The liquor wholesalers also have a marketing campaign of their own. The "Stop Teen Drinking" campaign has been funded by the liquor wholesale organization.

As issues regarding alcohol sales and distribution are addressed in the future, it would seem the forces seeking to keep wine out of grocery stores have the most political clout at the Statehouse. The liquor industry registered nearly twice as many lobbyists in opposing the bill as the Tennessee Grocers & Convenience Store Association did in supporting it. One liquor industry lobbyist in particular - Tom "Golden Goose" Hensley - is said to be unusually effective. The legendary longtime lobbyist earned his fairytale nickname by delivering the goods for the concerns he represents, and many politicos believe he has been the primary reason such measures have not succeeded. Yet some columnists for Nashville publications like the Nashville Post and The City Paper have claimed Hensley's influence is overrated. The passage this session of the Internet wine bill and legislation legalizing direct shipment of limited amounts of wine to Tennesseans from other states may support their perspective.

Whatever Hensley's political cache may be food, retailers have their own, if fewer, lobbyists. But the liquor business proponents have contributed far more money to state candidates and causes than have their grocery business counterparts. According to data from the National Institute on Money in State Politics, the liquor and beer industry has contributed more than $1 million dollars since the 2000 election cycle and nearly $350,000 in 2008, making the industry one of the top 15 political contributors in Tennessee. Grocers and other food retailers, on the other hand, contribute a pittance of that amount, less than $9,000 since 2000 and just $4,000 last year. On the other hand, there is evidence that the general public supports the sale of wine in grocery stores. The food retailers say their personnel routinely have requests for wine. Furthermore, a recent statewide poll by Middle Tennessee State University found that 62 percent of those polled support grocery store wine sales, with 26 percent opposing the idea. Competing petition drives by the two sides, however, suggest a much closer call, with supporters of wine in grocery stores having only a slight edge.

Whatever the numbers really are concerning the public's wishes regarding the sale of wine in grocery stores, as always, it won't necessarily matter much unless people put pressure, pro or con, on their elected political representatives. It is, after all, in the Legislature where these issues will ultimately be decided. Rep. Shepard is cautiously optimistic. "I think the mood in the Legislature is not so beholden to the old ways of doing things," says Shepard. "One of the things liquor store owners say is, if you're going to change the system, let's look at the entire system. That's what we intend to do. We're going to try to figure out what is best for the state of Tennessee."

In any case, it's certain the issue, like a fine bottle of wine sitting in the wine cellar for a special occasion, will be uncorked at a later date. And maybe, just maybe (cynicism thoroughly tempered), we can reach a new and mutually agreeable arrangement for the sale of wine that will maketh us all merry.

For further information:

www.capitol.tn.gov/

www.wswt.org/

www.twsra.com/

www.redwhiteandfood.com

www.tngrocer.org/

I'll have the chicken fingers and fries . . .

and my .38 snub nose

Tennessee's 106th General Assembly overwhelmingly passed legislation recently that authorizes citizens with handgun permits to carry their weapons into restaurants that serve alcoholic beverages, heretofore an illegal act. The unfettered Senate version of HB962 won out over the original House version that contained slight restrictions for permit holders regarding late-night hours and age-restricted venues. The lopsided Senate vote on the issue split along party lines, with all "no" votes coming from Democrats.

Gov. Phil Bredesen vetoed the bill in late-May, but the veto was overridden by the Legislature. "The notion that this bill would permit one to carry a concealed weapon into a crowded bar at midnight on a Saturday night defies common sense," said the governor in a press conference quoted in the Knoxville News Sentinel.

The Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police and the Tennessee Restaurant Association oppose the legislation. Knoxville Police Chief Sterling P. Owen IV is the president of the state's police association and was one of a number of law enforcement officers standing behind Gov. Bredesen at the press conference.

Given the bill's strong support in the General Assembly, the undeniable political clout of the NRA, which was active on the issue, and the fact that more than 200,000 Tennesseans hold handgun-carry permits, even the bill's supporters should recognize the governor's courage in opposing it.

If this bill becomes law it will nevertheless remain illegal for anyone carrying a gun to drink alcohol. Also, restaurant owners may decide for themselves whether or not to allow guns in their establishments and may put up signs alerting the public if they decide not to allow them.

HB962 is one of several gun-related bills dealt with by this General Assembly, including the authorization for those with proper permits to take guns into local and state parks. More than 30 states allow guns in establishments that serve alcohol.