Welcome to Second Ferment! Wine pairs well with life ... and food, travel, people, work and play. Grab a glass and join me as I explore the wine scene in Ottawa, Canada, and beyond. Love hearing from my readers, so please leave a comment. Cheers! - Bethany

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Still trying to #freemygrapes

In the 20 minutes or so that it's taken me to write this post, 151 new tweets with the hashtag #freemygrapes have flooded the Internet. Why? Because this Wine Wednesday is devoted to bringing an end to provincial barriers blocking the distribution of all the glorious wine that's out there, in regions flourishing from one coast to another.

Bet you're thinking, wasn't that what Bill C-311 was for? Not so simple. As we wait to see if it clears the Senate (which is likely) the provinces are mincing words and trying to find loopholes that will let them slap restrictions on what/how much someone can take or bring into a province on their person.

On their person. Uh, what about direct-to-consumer, online shopping?

While the bill's lengthy bureaucratese does make reference to shipping direct ("causes it to be brought") the provinces are balking at the alleged huge loss of revenue they'll face. Awwww. Cry me a river.

So if you're on Twitter tonight between 9 pm and midnight, have your say and tweet with #freemygrapes (which is trending across Canada right now, I might add.)

If you're not the tweeting type, I've compiled a list of all the provincial liquor boards' contact information below - email, fax, phone, even names in some cases. Make your voice heard! Tell them you want the spirit of Bill C-311 honoured!

Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission
British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch
Liquor Control Board of Ontario
Manitoba Liquor Control Commission
Northwest Territories Liquor Commission
Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation
New Brunswick Liquor Corporation
Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation
Prince Edward Island Liquor Control Commission
Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority
Societe des alcools du Quebec
Yukon Liquor Corporation

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