Ice Wine And Port to be Found at Heinz Field

The popularity of port wines and dessert wines is growing in the US and several of them are expected to get at least a second look tonight at the 9th annual Pittsburgh Wine Festival. Nearly 3,000- wine lovers are expected to descend on Heinz Field this evening for Grand Tasting. Many of them are sure to be looking to sample a nice port. “People are discovering that it is a great end to a meal to have a sweet wine maybe instead of that very sweet dessert, and sometimes it is in addition to the dessert,” says Pittsburgh Wine Festival President Ed Harrell.

Port wines sales in the US were up nearly 7% last year. The sale of dessert wines, including ice wines, has grown by as much as 60% in the last five years according to industry statistics. Ice wines are made from grapes that have frozen while still on the vine.

Harrell says some of the best ice wines are not surprisingly coming out of Canada. Harrell says he was even served a Canadian ice wine at a high-end restaurant in Napa Valley. “So if Napa thinks it’s good, the Canadians are doing O.K.”

More than 150 wineries from around the world will be pouring their wares. Proceeds from auctions at the event and wine dinners leading up to the testing will go the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for cancer research.

Senators Call Liquor Kiosk Plan 'Premature'

A pair of state senators is denouncing a plan to add liquor to the wine kiosks set up by the state last year.

Democratic Senator Jim Ferlo says the legislature wasn't told about the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board pilot program, even during lengthy discussions about modernizing the state store system.

Ferlo and Republican Senator John Pippy co-chair the committee that oversees the Liquor Code. Both disagree with the proposal.

Ferlo says now is not the time for this plan, since wine kiosks are producing weak sales and the LCB itself is under pressure.

"We know the governor and many in the House, the Republican majority, are pushing the complete elimination of the state store system, which to me is financially foolhardy," says Ferlo. "We have a great state store system which generates hundreds of millions of dollars back to the state government, and we have a controlled system."

Ferlo says while wine is appropriate in a grocery store setting, liquor is not. He says he's also concerned about minors gaining access to hard liquor through this plan.

The Allegheny County Democrat says the idea to put liquor at kiosks should first be vetted through the legislature and the public before being implemented. The pilot program would launch in a few months.

Hearing on Privatizing State Stores

The debate over selling off Pennsylvania’s state-owned liquor stores is officially underway. The first day of a State Senate hearing didn’t break much new ground on whether or not to privatize Pennsylvania’s state stores.A few Democrats voiced concern private stores wouldn’t screen for underage drinkers as vigorously as state employees do. Leonard Gilroy of the libertarian Reason Foundation argued the opposite, pointing out the private owners will have just shelled out hundreds of thousands of dollars for a license.

"You’ve just paid for that, and you have the risk of losing it? I would argue on balance the profit and private sector incentives are going to align. That you’re not going to really want your employees there to be loose on those sort of things, and you certainly are not going to take that risk, because you have a ton of capital at play. Not only the license itself, but the whole business."

Witnesses also offered differing takes on whether or not a sell-off would lead to increased drinking, and whether the one-time revenue would be worth reduced future income. Supporters of selling the stores said, in the end, Pennsylvania’s government shouldn’t be in the business of selling alcohol.
That rankled Allegheny County Democrat Jim Ferlo.

"They’re great stores. Well-stocked, great prices, great staff, union jobs, great wages. What’s broken in the system, other than broad philosophy, that makes you want to come here today to say, ‘let’s throw this great system out'."
It’s not clear when a House or Senate committee will vote on a privatization bill.

PA Wine Kiosks Closed Temporarily

Technical difficulties will close the 30 wine kiosks installed statewide by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. The closings could last through the first weeks of the coming year.

The most significant issue with the kiosks is the failure to actually dispense wine after a customer buys it.

Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board spokeswoman Stacy Kriedeman says while not all of the kiosks have experienced the malfunctions, all will be closed for several weeks until the developer, Simple Brands, can fix them.

Kriedeman says the closings will also slow the spread of more kiosks across the state. The Liquor Control Board plans to install 70 additional machines next year, but Kriedeman says those plans are being pushed back until all the issues are resolved.

Kriedeman says aside from the mechanical issues, the kiosks have garnered good reviews from consumers. She says the L.C.B. hopes to have them running again sometime in January.

Pennsylvania's Independent State Store Union, which has long criticized the kiosks, says it filed a legal request for records of all the machines' malfunctions December 1. After a legal review kept the union from getting the records, ISSU President David Wanamaker called the kiosk initiative "a deliberate sabotage of the state store system."

He says since the kiosks were implemented with public dollars, the union and the public should have full access to their malfunction reports. "Information concerning the wine vending machine boondoggle warrants further investigation," says Wanamaker.

Upcoming Battle Over State Store Privatization

Union groups are beginning to mobilize against a plan to sell off Pennsylvania’s state-owned liquor stores.
Incoming Republican leaders say privatizing Pennsylvania’s 600-plus stores is an early priority, and predict the sale would generate more than two billion dollars.
Wendell Young, who heads the United Federation of Commercial Workers’ Pennsylvania chapter, says their numbers are wrong.

"I think it’s a hard sell to the taxpayers of Pennsylvania to say that we know we can go to 2 billion. They know they can’t. There’s not a shred of evidence. Do the math. Take our your own calculator. Go talk to people in other states and ask what they pay for licenses. Nobody gets that kind of money. Why’s Pennsylvania going to be any different?"

Young says lawmakers would also be giving up future tax revenue by selling the state-owned system, as well as jeopardizing the jobs of liquor store employees.
Incoming Majority Leader Mike Turzai says liquor sales would still generate 500 million dollars in taxes each year, under his plan.

Poll: 2 0f 3 Want to Privatize PA Liquor Stores

Governor-elect Tom Corbett is riding a wave of public support into office, according to a new poll from Quinnipiac University.
Nearly six in ten respondents are optimistic about Corbett taking charge of Pennsylvania’s government.
Assistant polling director Peter Brown says the support is bipartisan.

"Even Democrats on this question, I believe are 45-40 in giving Corbett the benefit of the doubt. Obviously the numbers are much larger among Republicans and independents. But there’s a tendency to want to give your leaders the opportunity to succeed."

66 percent of respondents favor selling off state-owned liquor stores to help balance the budget, though union officials say the poll’s question is flawed, because it doesn’t mention the fact Pennsylvania would lose hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue by privatizing the stores.
Brown says more than half of respondents want to see more state workers laid off to trim costs.

"Government workers are not all that popular these days. I don’t know if you noticed, but a lot of politicians are criticizing – not necessarily in Pennsylvania – both on the federal level and in a number of states, people looking to cut budgets are looking squarely at public employees and questioning the size of their compensation packages."

Hundreds of state employees lost their jobs during the last two budget cycles.
A slim majority supports laying off state workers to bring government cost down, but 52 percent of those polled say they don’t want to see lawmakers lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike to a private company.
Given a choice among all of those options, as well as raising taxes, the poll shows respondents make privatizing liquor stores their top choice to generate new revenue.

Privatizing Liquor Stores on GOP Agenda

At New York City’s Pennsylvania Society events, Republicans celebrated their big November victories, and plotted next year’s agenda. Republicans took center stage at the midtown Manhattan receptions.
The GOP will control the House, Senate and governor’s office next year, and legislative leaders are already plotting which proposals to work on first.
Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi says he’s met with House Republican leaders to discuss how to try and sell off state-owned liquor stores.

"Well we’ve had preliminary discussions with Representative Turzai and Representative Smith. What we need to do is find out what the best order of proceeding is."

That means whether the bill will start in the House, or the Senate.
Republican lawmakers say their goal is to privatize the state stores before July, so the revenue can help fill next year’s anticipated multi-billion dollar budget gap.
The proposal is expected to be met with fierce resistance from unions, anti-liquor groups and other interests.

Corbett Can't Stop LCB Fee Hike

Governor-elect Tom Corbett is criticizing a Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board-mandated price increase that goes into effect just before he takes office.
But it appears that Corbett probably can’t do anything about the levy which will increase costs by fifteen cents to a bit more than a dollar, depending on the size of a bottle.

"It certainly appears to be a cost increase, at that point in time. I don’t understand, at this point, why the LCB is taking an action like that on the eve of a new administration. And that will certainly be the subject of transition discussions."

Corbett may not like the price increase, which the LCB is calling a “handling fee,” but both Rendell Administration officials and members of his transition team say he likely can’t overturn it.
The Republican does have the power to appoint new members to the three-person board, though. His first chance will come this spring, when member Tom Goldsmith’s term expires.
As board spokeswoman Stacey Witalec explains, Corbett could appoint a new chairman in 2011, even though current chair PJ Stapleton’s term runs through 2012.

"The governor can appoint a new chairman whenever he chooses to do-so. He can designate one of the board members as chairman, who will serve in that position technically at the pleasure of the governor. So he could appoint a new chairman as he saw fit."

Corbett and other Republican leaders say they’ll make privatizing Pennsylvania’s state-owned liquor stores a top priority next year.

Industry Group Calls for Voluntary Ban on Alco-Energy Drinks

The Malt Beverage Distributors Association of Pennsylvania has sent out a letter to its members encouraging them to voluntarily remove ‘Four Loko’ from their shelves. The alcohol and energy drink has come under scrutiny in recent weeks as more media reports linking ‘Four Loko’ to alcohol poisoning and injuries requiring hospital treatment surface. "Until the safety questions and other concerns about Four Loko are resolved, MBDA is asking its members not to sell this item," says Association President David Shipula. Shipula says the issues was brought up at the last MBDA board meeting after the Pennsylvania Liquor Control board sent out a letter to all beer distributors asking for the same action. He says among those beer distributors he has spoken to, the only Alco-Energy drink they were selling was ‘Four-Loko.’ He says there are as many as 40 other drinks in the class. ‘Four Loko’ combines a 12% alcohol content with caffeine and other stimulants typically found in energy drinks. Most mass-produced beer contains 4-6% alcohol.

Shipula says he was selling only a few cases of the drink every week but there were other members selling 50 cases a week. The board of the MBDA says they want to remove the beverage from the shelves until the FDA and other organizations have had a chance to review the safety of the beverage. It is unclear if the combination of chemicals in the drink is to blame of if drinkers simply are not expecting the kick and drink more than they should. "MBDA has always believed in and promoted the idea that beer and all alcoholic beverages should be used only by those over the age of 21 and only in a responsible manner," says Shipula.

Wine Kiosks on Track for PA Grocery Stores

The head of Pennsylvania's state liquor agency says a test of two wine vending kiosks at supermarkets is going well and it's likely that 98 more machines will soon be approved for operation across the state. Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board hief executive Joe Conti says a final decision should be made within two or three weeks, though he says a few bugs still have to be worked out before more kiosks are installed. Those glitches include wiring in the doors and the doors inability to seal during a power surge. If they are approved statewide, all of them could be up and running within three to six months. Conti says a plan to start installing them in western Pennsylvania first and then move east is being changed, so instead they'll be installed one grocery chain at a time. Sales at the two test stores in the Harrisburg suburbs are running 20 to 30 percent higher than anticipated. The kiosks have sold more than 3,300 bottles since June 21.

PLCB Unveils Wine Kiosks

If all goes well with a couple of beta test machines, wine drinkers in Pittsburgh will be able to buy a bottle or two from a vending machines this fall. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) today began operating two self-service wine kiosks located at grocery stores in Dauphin and Cumberland counties. PLCB Chairman P.J. Stapleton says the performance of the machines will be evaluated in the next 30-45 days and if there are no problems they will start the rollout of 98 more machines statewide. The 40-square-foot machines will operate from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, offering as many as 53 types of wine stored at 62 degrees F. Stapleton says they will range from about $10.00 a bottle to about $20.00 a bottle. The machines created by Simple Brands LLC of Conshohocken, PA will ask the purchaser to swipe their drivers licenses and then look at a high definition camera to allow a worker at a call center to verify identity of the purchaser. The customer will also have to blow on a screen housing a Breathalyzer. If a breath alcohol level of .02 or higher is detected, the consumer will be unable to make a purchase. All of the machines will be placed in grocery stores but Stapleton says the final list of locations has not yet been determined. “Consumers are yearning for additional consumer convenience,” says Stapleton, “Customers are going to local supermarkets to pick up a couple of great steaks and bring them home for dinner and now they can bring home a cabernet to have with them.” Pennsylvania is the only state using such machines.
The union that represents the state store employees has weighed in against the machines. Independent State Store Union spokesperson Ed Cloonan says, "Cigarettes are banned from being sold in vending machines in Pennsylvania supermarkets and yet Americans' number one drug of choice will now be vended only in Pennsylvania by the PLCB." Cloonan calls the wine kiosks “Rube Goldberg-like contraptions.” The Independent State Store Union has filed suit in Commonwealth Court to stop the placement of wine vending machines in grocery stores. "Alcohol is not a Red Box DVD - it is the most abused drug in every town, city and state in the USA," says David Wanamaker, Vice-President of ISSU.