Wine Wednesday: Free My Grapes

The big deal on Twitter tonight is Bill C-311. For those of you who aren't in the know (what rock are you living under?) this bill, introduced by Okanagan MP Dan Albas, will make it legal for wine to cross provincial borders. Personal exemptions will be set for individuals bringing in wine for their own consumption, and it will be easier for wineries to ship direct to customers. Common sense, n'est-ce pas?

For a while, there was some confusion. First the media said the bill had all-party support. Then we started hearing that the NDP filibustered, putting the bill at risk of being shelved until the fall. The uproar from Canada's wineaux could be heard from the shores of the Okanagan to the Annapolis Valley.

THEN the NDP stepped forward, did a "my bad" and extra time was scraped together so that the final reading could be done and reviewed by the Senate. Come Wednesday of next week, our grapes may finally be free, my friends.

Here are some top tweets from tonight's #BCWineChat:

@DanAlbas: Let's get this out on the open & then move on. NDP intentionally filibustered, saw the backlash & are now backtracking.

@BeyondtheCellar: How many shipping companies are following and do you have rates ready?

@Bradinator: This deal is done. We're entering new era now. Time to put pressure on each control boards to do the right thing. / Looking forward to looking back: a bunch of invested and engaged people decided to get something positive done and did.

(I'll say: 1000 tweets #freemygrapes and 1500 w #bcwinechat - in an HOUR!)

@WayeJA: I want to be able to buy Canadian wines in a store in my province not pay Fedex to ship it to me.

@SandraOldfield: I just drank a bunch of Nova Scotia wines I bootlegged out tonight and am waiting for the RCMP to show up / this is the only country in the world that calls shipping 2 its own provinces "export"

@nota_baby: First step: pass Bill C-31, next step: privatize the provincial liquor control & distribution systems.

(Next step after that: one VQA to rule them ... I mean, guide them ... all. One thing at a time, though.)

@Zwineninja: Share the wealth, end the monopoly.

VIVA LA REVOLUCION!!!