The WineCAM Agenda

We are wine-consuming residents of Michigan, responsible adults who purchase and enjoy wine as a beverage of choice. The $1 billion we spend each year drives Michigan's wine industry at every level – producer, distributor, and retail.

 Wine as a beverage and accompaniment to food has been regularly enjoyed by human society for more than three millennia.

 Recent medical research clearly demonstrates the beneficial health effects of moderate wine consumption by adults.

 We believe that an overwhelming number of Michigan adults regard wine as an everyday beverage that can be enjoyed regularly and responsibly.

 We note with displeasure that Michigan's consumer-unfriendly legislative and regulatory environment results in our state’s wine prices being among the highest in the nation, brand availability among the lowest of similarly populous states, and direct shipment of wine from other states unavailable to us.

 We believe that outdated or unnecessarily burdensome restrictions on the rights of adults to purchase and enjoy wine responsibly are contrary to the public interest.

 We recognize the legitimate rights and interests of the state in regulating alcoholic beverages. But we believe that regulations governing wine must evolve to reflect the social norms and economic realities of the 21st century, not the post-Prohibition era.

 We do not yield to anyone in our support for regulations that keep minors from obtaining alcoholic beverages and allow the government to levy reasonable taxes. But we believe that these regulations can and should be written to create the least possible burden on the rights of adults to obtain such beverages and enjoy them responsibly.

 We believe that alcoholic beverage regulations in a populous, diverse state such as ours should not reflect the narrow economic interests or political views of small groups, even those that may be highly vocal or politically powerful.

 We believe that when regulations defer to such narrow groups in opposition to broader consumer interests, the inevitable result is that those regulations are widely resented and ignored, with a consequent loss of respect for the government that enacted them.

Copyright © 2005 Wine Consumers Across Michigan
Legally, we're WineCAM LLC -- a Michigan Limited Liability Company