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PAUL CHARTRAND 03/05/2008

As with most bills, there is more than meets the eye in the proposal by Sen. Lynn Bromley, D-South Portland, to allow mail and phone orders of wine to be shipped into Maine.

This newspaper's Feb. 27 editorial in support of Bromley's bill shows a lack of understanding of some of this complexity and its potential effect on Maine business.

As a Maine-based wine importer and former legislator, I've always opposed such efforts.

For a small state, Maine already has an incredible choice of wines and beers available to customers through our wholesale and retail distribution. Recent years brought us many new distributors who focus on small, boutique wineries so that many more of them now sell in Maine.

Can a Maine retail customer buy every single wine available in the United States?

No. Why?

Wineries not selling in Maine have chosen to bypass the state in their nationwide distribution plans in order to avoid the time and cost involved, while focusing their resources on larger markets. They could pay Maine license fees, register their products and develop distribution, but they refuse to undertake that task.

Instead they whine, pressuring Maine customers and government for an easy way into the state, avoiding the work and fees the rest of us pay to sell here. Rather than admitting Maine customers are not so important to them, these wineries cleverly blame big government.

My company spends thousands of dollars and hours every year for the privilege of legally selling our wines in 25 states, including Maine. No question about it, alcohol sales requirements are expensive and burdensome. The United States and Maine have antiquated systems. But it won't be fair unless it changes for everyone. All I, and other Maine wine dealers, ask is a level playing field.

If the newspaper wishes Maine government to subsidize distant wineries while Maine business suffers, so be it. It does not surprise me that your last letter on this came from Kennewick, Wash., home to many such "whine-eries."

In a year of budget deficits, I vote for continuing to collect all fees that Maine can collect from alcohol sales. And while some Maine wineries may support this change, they sell the majority of their wines right here in the state, where their products are most likely to attract tourists and local buyers.

Paul Chartrand, a former state legislator, runs Chartrand Imports in Rockland, the first American company to import and sell a complete selection of organic wines nationwide.

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