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Comment by Mike Magan on September 19, 2008 at 8:06pm

A new Children's charity needs your Help! Step Up 4 Kids will be throwing it's third fund raiser: Return to Prom Youth Benefit on Saturday Sept. 27 from 7-11 at Allison Mansion.

It will be hosted by Grace Trahan and feature local band Greta Speaks. Wine of course, will be flowing freely.

Tickets cost $50 per person and can be purchased here.

Comment by Katie Ready on September 9, 2008 at 8:50pm

I have to throw this out there...Cork and Cracker. A wine shop on 62nd just West of Marsh on Keystone. The selection is amazing and you can't beat the prices anywhere! Stop in sometime and see what they have to offer.

P.S. They offer lots of great gift ideas, too!

Comment by Bernard Munos on September 1, 2008 at 12:18am

Well. the results are in and they show that 87% of the voters in Inside Indiana Business' poll favor Sunday sales of alcoholic beverages. This is more than Marsh and Costco flexing their muscle. It means that just about everyone who cares wants the convenience of Sunday sales. That beer distributors and liquor store owners should use manipulative lobbying to stand in the way of the popular vote hits me as being rather callous. Not a shining example of democracy for our state.

I understand the economic argument. Yet, if we accept that logic, why not pass a law that restricts store openings to just one day per week? That would surely help the staffing issues. Absurd, of course. I agree. The economic argument is flawed. Liquor stores and distributors in states that allow Sunday sales have not gone out of business. Why would it be different in Indiana?

There is evidently a strong grassroots movement to rescind the blue laws. If the liquor store lobby decides to obstruct their repeal, I would urge a good old-fashioned boycott of these stores. There are painless alternatives. With 87% of customers voting with their cash, this is an economic argument that the liquor stores should understand!

Comment by Renee Wilmeth on August 26, 2008 at 11:38am

Here's the cite. More from Mark Finch's Wine Canine blog:

"Hoosiers for Beverage Choices has the support of the Indiana Retail Council, the Indiana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association and the Indiana Petroleum Council. HBC's domain name is registered to The Corydon Group, which counts Anheuser-Busch, Wal-Mart and the Indiana Township Association among its clients."

Comment by Renee Wilmeth on August 26, 2008 at 6:11am

The Sunday alcohol sales issue will be one of the biggest money issuese for the business lobby this year. Citizen support, ultimately, will mean very little. Wine distributors and some retailers have historically put big money behind fighting it and are already doing so this year. The difference is that this year, large grocers and other retailers are finally putting money behind lobbying for Sunday sales through two firms (last I heard). Hoosiers for Beverage Choice is the "grass roots" public face of one of them.

Word I'm hearing in the industry is that the issue will get some traction this year but probably not pass until the 2nd time around. Hey, not that we don't love lobbyists when we're on their side, but the Sunday sales issue is going to be big business at its finest in the statehouse, not necessarily a citizen issue, although the retailer group (Hoosiers for Beverage Choice) is certainly going to get the public behind them. (Very smart strategy.)

I've talked to a few small retailers who aren't excited about the prospect of Sunday sales because of the additional staffing and operations costs. A few feel it will have a negative impact on their bottom line. Distributors are hugely against it because of the cost and staffing issues as well (among other things such as reps having to be on call seven days a week, I'm sure.) As much as we'd all love to buy beer on Sunday, this proposed change in the law is purely for the benefit of Marsh and some of the other major grocers/retailers. The impact will be more far reaching for those small stores who feel they have to open to compete. I tend to be pro-small business and as much as I'd love Sunday sales, I understand both sides of it.

Comment by Bernard Munos on August 25, 2008 at 11:59pm

Inside Indiana Business with Gerry Dick, the television program, is conducting a poll this week on the issue of Sunday alcohol sales.

Please visit the Inside Indiana Business website at http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/poll_vote_page.asp and make your vote count!

If politicians see a momentum, we have a shot at rescinding the blue laws.

Comment by Renee Wilmeth on August 25, 2008 at 11:57am

Anyone else taking the Master Court Intro Somm exam Sept 8-9? Arthur Black says they're maxed out at 85. If you're taking it, let me know. I have some extra sets of study questions I might be willing to share for a price ;-) Depends on the bottle :-) Seriously, though, if anyone wants to plan a study night, let me know. It's not a hard exam, but I'm a little behind on my European classifications and region memorizations.

Comment by Bernard Munos on August 21, 2008 at 9:33pm

10,000 Hoosiers sign up in a week to allow sales of civilized beverages, such as wine, on Sundays. Pass the word, join the crowd at http://www.beveragechoices.com/. Let's bring Indiana out of the prohibition.

Comment by Bernard Munos on August 12, 2008 at 2:37am

Petition to allow wine sales on Sundays

I don't know if everyone in this group has seen it, but there is a petition out there to allow the sale of wines and other civilized beverages on Sundays: http://www.beveragechoices.com/
Please pass the word around.

Comment by Janet Hambrock on May 8, 2008 at 4:52pm

Deano's wine tastings are great! If you haven't checked it out, you definitely should.

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