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State Wine Corked

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While little progress has been made on privatizing state-owned wine and spirits stores since the debate advanced last summer, the state’s Liquor Control Board has decided to sort of exit the wine business by ending its “in-house” brand of wine and selling off the inventory at deep discounts.

The Allegheny Institute commented on the perplexing situation where the agency charged with controlling the sale of wine and spirits was entering into the fore with its own product.  We noted “If you have a monopoly, you don’t need an in-house brand…That’s not their job. Their job is to control the sale of wine or liquor, not to make or promote their own brand.”

Amazingly, the genesis of the idea came when the market forces of supply and demand were at work and the Board reacted to them. “The wine-making market experienced a surplus of grape juice. The glut drove down prices, creating ‘unprecedented opportunity for the agency to consider its own product’” according to the then-CEO of the board.

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Allegheny Institute
Allegheny Institute

The Allegheny Institute is a non-profit research and education organization. Our mission is to defend the interests of taxpayers, citizens and businesses against an increasingly burdensome and intrusive government.

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