Trying close down shipping to Ohio...again

Hits on all the classics, including minors buying wine.

A classic from the distributor, I didn’t know I could go to the gas station to buy my wine.


“There are tens of thousands of retail stores to buy wine in Ohio – including independently owned grocery stores, drugstores, gas stations, bars and restaurants – that support local communities, comply with alcohol laws and pay their taxes,” said Casey Forbes, who is the owner of Vintage Wine Distributors.“

If it is strictly tax revenue, I have zero problem Of course with making wine.com charge and pay the sales tax. But we know that’s not what it’s all about.

They do charge the state sales tax…

I’m pretty sure it’s greedy distributors trying to keep over charging Ohioans for cooked wines.

I don’t think wine.com has charged sales tax actually. When I order from stores in NY they do, but they charge NY tax which doesn’t make sense, except for the disclaimer that always reads title transfers to buyer at time of sale.

They charge me tax here in pa.

It never is.

Spent some time in NE Ohio and noticed how expensive wine was compared to NY.

Amen. The selection here is anemic at best, and the cost is usually greater than the cost to ship in from elsewhere. Practically none of the wine that is talked about on this board can be sourced from an Ohio retailer.

My last wine.com order did have “a” tax charge applied.

Hey Nick, where in NE Ohio are you? I agree, hard to find most things in the Youngstown area, though I do have a restaurant connection that can occasionally grab some hard to find things. Fortunately I’ve reached the point where I am drinking more than spending these days, on unintended consequence of Covid.

Which is largely why John S and I go nuts on Berserker Day…

Pat:
I’m actually in Columbus, but I’ve found that the situation is pretty similar statewide. It’s good to have a restaurant connection as they tend to get the entire allocation of many of the best wines that do make it to Ohio.

Dave:
I go nuts on Berserker Day too, although not quite to your level.

No joke

I buy a fair amount of blue chip burgundy from a gas station in Ohio.

I agree. I buy wines to cook with in Ohio and get wines to drink elsewhere. The wine and spirits lobby should decrease the mandatory minimum markups and be competitive with other states pricing. It would be nice to have a real wine shop where you could have tastings and recommendations from someone who is educated about wine… I know wishful thinking

Bob

I’ve never had a problem finding interesting wines when back in Dayton. On more than one occasion, I’ve brought wine back to Maryland from Ohio that I can’t find locally or that were cheaper in Ohio. I know it sounds odd but even with state minimum pricing I have at times found wine cheaper in Dayton than I can get them in MD or DC.

There may be a few interesting wines lying around somewhere but there is nothing like a MacArthurs anywhere in the state. Burgundy and Rhône are non existent and things like champagne are probably 75% more here.

If they do manage to shut us down, i’m thinking I could ship to A Walgreens in the far western corner of NY and pick stuff up there.

As far as I’m concerned, Vanguard is the only decent distributor in Ohio.

I am pretty sure that is illegal, not that I am condemning it. I hate it when politicians try to protect their donors and make felons of their people.

I was sure Nathan was going to point that out, probably still will :slight_smile:

It’s not MacArthurs but if things get really desperate you might want to contact Eric at https://www.jerardislittlestore.com/

He carries more Bordeaux than Burgundy, Rhône, or Champagne but does carry some of all and has special ordered for me and others in the past. One of the things I did carry back was some Corton Charlemagne that he sold me for less than I could get it at MacArthurs .

Full disclosure, I went to high school with Eric and consider him a friend.