Fabbioli Cellars

Dear Friends,

Weather related again!

Our weatherman is giving us a relatively lousy forecast for Sunday, but we will still be here tasting wine and sharing some good company. We hope you can make it, but please call ahead if you have concerns about the road conditions. We would rather have you all safe and catch up on the visiting in better weather. I brought in Waterford Vineyards Barrel Select Chardonnay to taste and pour for this weekend. You will see more wines from different VA wineries being served by us. Our plan also includes some light fare with an emphasis on chocolate. There may even be a small celebration for the birthday of our 4 feline cellar workers. I had a nice Sunday last week with some determined customers; some intimate tasting and some great discussions about wine, winemaking and the VA industry along with many other topics. We all look forward to seeing you Sunday or in the near future.

Self-Distribution Update: The wineries of VA are one signature away from regaining the right to self-distribute. As the bill reads, Virginia will set up a corporation to handle orders and process paperwork allowing the wineries to deliver wine themselves. My opinion? This will give us the right to deliver but builds in more bureaucracy in an already confusing and cumbersome system of forms, taxes and regulations. How did we end up with this? Powerful lobbying by the wholesalers to protect the 3-tiered system. Who loses? Wineries outside of VA lose and in my opinion, the Constitution. In 2005, the US Supreme Court ruled that wineries inside and outside of the state need to be on equal ground concerning distribution rights. VA has found a way to keep the outside wineries out. Although I will take advantage of this protection, I am concerned that this type of protection will hinder the development of the industry in the long run and make the 3 tiered system even more protected. The upside of this is that some of the smaller wineries learned about the distribution system, customer service, and how to work together. Also, some great leadership emerged from David King of King Family Vineyards along with others. By bringing the wineries together, we had a much stronger influence on the legislators and the law.

The Press: We at Fabbioli have been blessed with some great publicity in print, TV and Internet form. The latest hit was in the Washington Post Magazine. It was a nice two-paragraph story about us and what we are doing. I work to build relationships with the press as I do with customers. These folks really care and want to get a good story out that will make a little difference in the world around them. The list and appreciation is too great to mention but I feel in standing up and working for the industry, we have some good stories to tell. Thanks.

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