image: nawr.org

I’d fully intended to provide some peripatetic and yet somehow also sublimely insightful wine review action for you this week (and I’ve much to tell you about my recent jaunt to Israeli wine country, too). But nature has intervened, once again declaring herself the boss, and me her beeeatch, by providing me with a cold/fever combination, and a broken toe.

Good times!

Anyway, I’m going to actually listen to that harsh task mistress and get up off of my feet for once and just rest and heal. Which means I’ll be delayed in getting things written up here. In the meantime, however, I’d encourage you to check out Wholesale Protection 2018: A Report on Alcohol Wholesaler Campaign Contributions, a new report by the National Association of Wine Retailers (NAWR), whose Executive Director is my friend Tom Wark. According to the press release, the report “examines the amount of money America’s alcohol middlemen give to state political campaigns, to whom they give it and the differences on a state-by-state level.”

Which basically means that you can see which of your state’s politicians actually kinda-sorta works more for the Booze Wholesaler Man, political-swamp-style, then they actually do for you. Two quick takeaways from my perusal:

1. The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America has some cash, baby, and they are not afraid to use it.

2. Repubs have the edge in accepting the coin when it comes to these donations, as do incumbents; in the case of the latter, it’s a a whopping 76%, strongly suggesting that the focus is keep the status quo…

Cheers!