And the winner is...Everybody but Pennsylvania.

Nice to know that the second largest wine retailer in the U.S. (at the moment) only influences a captive monopoly citizenry and nothing else.

Yeah, the PLCB keeps talking "world-class" and walking "second rate." That's certainly the impression you get from Infowine.com's annual list of the top 100 influencers in wine: not one PLCB employee is among them. Numerous other people in retailers like K&L (California) Total Wine (soon to be the #2 retailer ahead of the PLCB) and Costco (currently #1) made the cut. The list includes Masters of Wine (none in the PLCB - ever), winners of  the James Beard Foundation medal for the nation’s outstanding wine and spirits professional (none in the PLCB - ever), Members of the Guild of Sommeliers (none in the PLCB - ever) and innovators from across the country (none in the PLCB - ever...and no, the wine kiosks don't count).

I was part of the Livestock, Dairy,
and Poultry subcommittee. Of course
I'm qualified to be in charge of liquor!

No, Pewnnsylvania gets brainstorms like "A consortium of control states all buying from the PLCB", Wine Kiosks (never forget!!), using buying power to raise prices instead of lower them, and hiring a probation officer to run the whole operation. Just what are those free states thinking with their convenience, selection, and real certified professionals working to expand the boundaries in wine? Fools. They could be selling their customers wine that didn't make the cut in the real world like the PLCB does, and positioning it as some sort of benefit.

Just more examples of how the PLCB can never lead, never bring the citizens of the Commonwealth the same standard that the majority of people in the US enjoy. Just because mediocrity is well lit does not make it what the people want or deserve. People need government to regulate the safety of products, to make sure they aren't abused by things beyond their control, and to insure clean water and air.

They don't need government to decide what wine they're allowed to buy.

Privatize.

It is to laugh

I don't do much on wine, but every once in a while the PLCB does something with wine to draw my attention. Today it was a document about their wine specialists in the stores.  It started out with "Each one of our highly trained Wine Specialists at Fine Wine & Good Spirits Premium Collection stores can help you find what you need or suggest something..."

There are 111 people listed as Retail Wine Specialists in the PLCB, along with a dozen Wine Specialty Coordinators. Up until mid-February, there was also a Specialty Wine Consultant, but the position is no longer listed; that one guy retired. I guess he took the secret knowledge with him. Most of the 111 are working as wine folks in the stores. I don't know what the 12 "Coordinators" do exactly. 

But I do know that not all the Retail Wine Specialists have even the most basic industry recognized certification, just the "PLCB" training, the kind that is recognized only by the PLCB.

These are real; the PLCB training is not.

At the Coordinator level, not all of them have even mid-level industry recognized certifications.  Remember: these are the folks selecting wine for the entire state, Keep in mind that nobody in charge of the operation has any high-level training. Not even the lowest level of  "Introductory Sommelier" at the PLCB. Of course, this matches the Board and senior executives who don't even have the lowest level of experience in the non-monopoly liquor or wine industry. That isn't to say there aren't any in the PLCB; they just aren't the ones in charge who make decisions about what the entire state is allowed to buy or drink.

You would think that as the second or third largest buyer of wine on the continent would feel the need to have a Master Sommelier on staff, but on reflection, you can understand why the PLCB doesn't. They don't have to lead in any category, only follow. They don't have to satisfy ALL consumers, just the majority. They don't have to have a business model that expands the boundaries, just one that pushes unsold wine on the populace and calls it a great idea.

Having 111 people listed as "wine specialists" sounds good, but unless you have 111 people that are actually recognized as wine specialists outside the PLCB, you're just misleading the public again. Are your specialists are as good as somebody whose livelihood depends on his knowledge and return customers? These home-grown 'specialists' are the same kind of internal self-congratulation the PLCB engages in when they "self-audit" their compliance with underage drinking laws. Hey, why not tell the IRS you're going to "self-audit" your taxes this year!

The PLCB has a lot of convincing to do. Convince us that having ten wine specialists in Philadelphia, a city of 2+ million, is better than having 50 wine shops. Convince us that having higher prices for the consumer and pitiful price breaks for resellers is good for us. Convince us that being $1.6 Billion in debt is somehow good for the state. Convince us that having people with no industry experience lead is a good way to run things. That's an uphill climb. We deserve better.

One last thing: if anyone at the PLCB believes that I'm wrong about the lack these certifications, you already have the list of names published. Just put the certifications next to the names. I won't hold my breath.

Privatize.

What if the state ran the drugstores?

What if other things that the state regulates were done the same half-assed way they do alcohol?

For instance, how about a pharmacy? They're always telling us alcohol is a drug. Well, then, give the drugstore the PLCB treatment! No more soda, chips, greeting cards and lipstick: sorry, this is a DRUG STORE. Imagine if the "Pharmacist" only needed the same qualifications as the Beer Distributor or the State Store Manager. How would you like that? If they're all just drugs, why shouldn't the people who dispense them have the same requirements: mostly, a pulse, and some civil service points.

Flip it the other way, and imagine if a State Store Manager had to pass a state board to prove he is qualified, like a Pharmacist does. He'd have to stay current with all new products, and know that you don't put Elderflower liquor in a Greyhound (contrary to the advice you get on the FWAGS website). That he had to know the interaction of thousands of different products, and maybe have a minor in mixology and certifications in wine or spirits. So why don't they?

Why is it easier to buy a case of Nikolai than to get Tramadol, Anexsia, Humira, or even Viagra? (You gotta figure that Viagra is popular at the PLCB considering what they do to the consumer everyday.)  Is it because the PLCB really is only giving lip service to "control" and know that they really don't, really can't do a very good job of it? Maybe it is the money. Making it more difficult would cut into the meager amount that the PLCB turns in. I'm thinking that it is most likely job protection. They have this racket going and to do anything to jeopardize it would just be going against their grain.

Who does a better job of regulation? Private Pharmacies or the PLCB?

They certainly aren't working for us: 83 years for the "freedom" to buy four bottles of wine in less than 20% of all grocery stores, or to buy a sixpack at a cafe no one ever sits in. Hell, they won't even let you drink the sixpack you just bought at the cafe they have to provide. Makes sense only in the fog shrouded mind of "modernization" supporters.

You gotta ask yourself not when they will do better but IF they ever will do better. History is not on their side. Privatize and regulate like all the normal states do.


(This is day 46 with no financials yet.)