Lucky we live in VA

"Dee Randall" wrote

Quoted message said:

There used to be a saying when we lived in Hawaii when we couldn't get
this or that item, or if one complained about something, it went like
this: "Lucky you live Hawaii."

I feel that way about Virginia after looking at the Trader Joe states
around us that do not carry beer or wine. DH traveling to CT passes thru
Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York (all of NY, I don't know), New Jersey,
CT, most of which carry no beer nor wine.

Lucky we live Virginia.
Dee Dee

I know. I don't know if the liquor laws are governed by individual counties
here in Maryland. I know the supermarket near me (Queen Anne's Co.) doesn't
sell beer or wine, but the Giant in Easton (Talbot County) has a large stock
of both.

The Trader Joe's nearest me is in Annapolis (Anne Arundel County). When I
go, I'll check out the story.

Funny - my husband was born and raised in Virginia. He has told me that in
the past the only place you could buy alcohol was at the (state-owned?) ABC
stores. Time marches on!

Dora

Dee Randall said:

I feel that way about Virginia after looking at the Trader Joe states
around us that do not carry beer or wine.

Lucky we live in Bavaria. No restrictions on beer, wine and liquors
plus a coin operated cigarette machine on every garden fence and Cuban
cigars on free sale :-)

Jens

"limey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Dee Randall" wrote

Quoted message said:

There used to be a saying when we lived in Hawaii when we couldn't get
this or that item, or if one complained about something, it went like
this: "Lucky you live Hawaii."

I feel that way about Virginia after looking at the Trader Joe states
around us that do not carry beer or wine. DH traveling to CT passes thru
Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York (all of NY, I don't know), New Jersey,
CT, most of which carry no beer nor wine.

Lucky we live Virginia.
Dee Dee

I know. I don't know if the liquor laws are governed by individual
counties here in Maryland. I know the supermarket near me (Queen Anne's
Co.) doesn't sell beer or wine, but the Giant in Easton (Talbot County)
has a large stock of both.

The Trader Joe's nearest me is in Annapolis (Anne Arundel County). When
I go, I'll check out the story.

Funny - my husband was born and raised in Virginia. He has told me that
in the past the only place you could buy alcohol was at the (state-owned?)
ABC stores. Time marches on!

Dora

Dora, this may be still true that the ABC stores is the only place you can
buy "hard liquor." We've noticed the ABC stores sell mainly "Virginia"
wines and very few.

One day DH ran across a woman who was telling him that Virginian's had the
highest rate of alcoholics in the nation. DH laughed and said, where the
heck would you buy a drink around here -- I don't see any bars." She said,
Well you just go up to the WV line." (I think liquor is sold here at some
restaurants, but I don't really know that for a fact because I don't order
'hard liquor' at home or in restaurants or bars.) Tee-totaler, me -- except
for WINE!! (Wino?)
Dee Dee

"Jens Arne Maennig" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dee Randall said:

I feel that way about Virginia after looking at the Trader Joe states
around us that do not carry beer or wine.

Lucky we live in Bavaria. No restrictions on beer, wine and liquors
plus a coin operated cigarette machine on every garden fence and Cuban
cigars on free sale :-)

Jens

I've been there. The people, too, are a very happy people -- let me see, are
you the poster speaking of Texans? You won't like this, but I think their
personalities are quite similar. Both energetic happy-go-lucky acting
people.
(One engaged to a Munich fun-loving guy.)
Dee Dee

Dee Randall said:

The people, too, are a very happy people -- let me see, are you the
poster speaking of Texans? You won't like this, but I think their
personalities are quite similar.

That's what people usually say.

Quoted message said:

Both energetic happy-go-lucky acting people.

An old friend of mine (she was born in San Antonio, TX) also used to
mention that Texas has the most beautiful girls in the US, which might
also be true for the Bavarian girls in Germany :-)

Quoted message said:

(One engaged to a Munich fun-loving guy.)

Still (but not for very much longer) married to a Munich girl,

Jens

"Dee Randall" wrote

Quoted message said:

"limey" wrote

Quoted message said:

Funny - my husband was born and raised in Virginia. He has told me that
in the past the only place you could buy alcohol was at the
(state-owned?) ABC stores. Time marches on!

Dora

Quoted message said:

Dora, this may be still true that the ABC stores is the only place you can
buy "hard liquor." We've noticed the ABC stores sell mainly "Virginia"
wines and very few.

Dee Dee

Ah, then it must have been hard liquor. (Wine drinking wasn't as
fashionable in those days and DH tells me the ABCs sold only cheap
muscatel - now that's the wino drink, Dee!!).
You could buy a bottle of booze at a restaurant then if it had a liquor
license. Nowadays, we realize you can easily get a drink with dinner.
Interesting how things evolve.

I must make a trip to Trader Joe's in Annapolis soon. It's relatively new
and a thousand things have stopped me from going.

Dora

"Jens Arne Maennig" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dee Randall said:

The people, too, are a very happy people -- let me see, are you the
poster speaking of Texans? You won't like this, but I think their
personalities are quite similar.

That's what people usually say.

Quoted message said:

Both energetic happy-go-lucky acting people.

An old friend of mine (she was born in San Antonio, TX) also used to
mention that Texas has the most beautiful girls in the US, which might
also be true for the Bavarian girls in Germany :-)

I'll go along with that.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

(One engaged to a Munich fun-loving guy.)

Still (but not for very much longer) married to a Munich girl,

Jens

(:-((((
Guess you'll have to take a trip to Texas!
Dee Dee

Dee Randall said:

I feel that way about Virginia after looking at the Trader Joe states
around us that do not carry beer or wine. DH traveling to CT passes
thru Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York (all of NY, I don't know), New
Jersey, CT, most of which carry no beer nor wine.

Lucky we live Virginia.
Dee Dee

In the US the liquor/alcohol laws seem to vary by city, county, state. I
live in the largest county in Tennessee and would love to be able to buy
wine in the grocery store. Nope, gotta go to a store that carries hard
liquor (but those stores aren't allowed to sell beer, go figure).

When we were in Jonesboro last week we had to join a "club" in a restaurant
(one of the very few) in order to have a glass of wine with dinner.
Basically all of Craighead county is dry. We brought our own wine to sip in
our room, but if you want to buy it you have to drive over to Poinsett
county.

Jill

Dee Randall said:

"limey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Dee Randall" wrote

Quoted message said:

There used to be a saying when we lived in Hawaii when we couldn't get
this or that item, or if one complained about something, it went like
this: "Lucky you live Hawaii."

I feel that way about Virginia after looking at the Trader Joe states
around us that do not carry beer or wine. DH traveling to CT passes thru
Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York (all of NY, I don't know), New Jersey,
CT, most of which carry no beer nor wine.

Lucky we live Virginia.
Dee Dee

I know. I don't know if the liquor laws are governed by individual
counties here in Maryland. I know the supermarket near me (Queen Anne's
Co.) doesn't sell beer or wine, but the Giant in Easton (Talbot County)
has a large stock of both.

The Trader Joe's nearest me is in Annapolis (Anne Arundel County). When
I go, I'll check out the story.

Funny - my husband was born and raised in Virginia. He has told me that
in the past the only place you could buy alcohol was at the (state-owned?)
ABC stores. Time marches on!

Dora

Dora, this may be still true that the ABC stores is the only place you can
buy "hard liquor." We've noticed the ABC stores sell mainly "Virginia"
wines and very few.

People I know that lived in VA used to go to DC to load up on booze,
they said it was cheaper...

--
Best
Greg

Jens Arne Maennig said:

Dee Randall said:

The people, too, are a very happy people -- let me see, are you the
poster speaking of Texans? You won't like this, but I think their
personalities are quite similar.

That's what people usually say.

People in Berlin say that Bavarians are uncouth parvenus :-)

--
Best
Greg

Dee Randall said:

"Jens Arne Maennig" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Still (but not for very much longer) married to a Munich girl,

(:-((((
Guess you'll have to take a trip to Texas!

I proposed that to my girlfriend (another Bavarian) but she didn't like
the idea too much :-)

Jens

Gregory Morrow said:

People in Berlin say that Bavarians are uncouth parvenus :-)

Which is, given their point of view, true. Typical northern German,
maybe even Hanseatic, protestant, cool and discreet persons often have
acceptance problems with the Bavarian baroque, voluptios,
self-satisfied, showy and noisy lifestyle.

If you can stand it, it's more fun to be Bavarian, though. I came to
Munich in 1988 and wanted to stay for half a year but it looks like I'm
still around. It can't be that bad.

I'll be in Berlin with my son for a couple of days soon to keep on
annoying them :-)

Jens, previously inhabitant of Berlin (West)

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dee Randall said:

I feel that way about Virginia after looking at the Trader Joe states
around us that do not carry beer or wine. DH traveling to CT passes
thru Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York (all of NY, I don't know), New
Jersey, CT, most of which carry no beer nor wine.

Lucky we live Virginia.
Dee Dee

In the US the liquor/alcohol laws seem to vary by city, county, state. I
live in the largest county in Tennessee and would love to be able to buy
wine in the grocery store. Nope, gotta go to a store that carries hard
liquor (but those stores aren't allowed to sell beer, go figure).

When we were in Jonesboro last week we had to join a "club" in a
restaurant
(one of the very few) in order to have a glass of wine with dinner.
Basically all of Craighead county is dry. We brought our own wine to sip
in
our room, but if you want to buy it you have to drive over to Poinsett
county.

Jill

I don't know if they still do it, but years ago when you would fly over a
county (or state?), the stewardesses would announce there would be no liquor
served. What a hoot! I suppose nowadays if you complained, they might
throw you off!

Dee Dee

Dee Randall said:

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dee Randall said:

CT passes thru Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York (all of NY, I don't
know), New Jersey, CT, most of which carry no beer nor wine.

Lucky we live Virginia.
Dee Dee

When we were in Jonesboro last week we had to join a "club" in a
restaurant
(one of the very few) in order to have a glass of wine with dinner.
Basically all of Craighead county is dry. We brought our own wine
to sip in
our room, but if you want to buy it you have to drive over to
Poinsett county.

Jill

I don't know if they still do it, but years ago when you would fly
over a county (or state?), the stewardesses would announce there
would be no liquor served. What a hoot! I suppose nowadays if you
complained, they might throw you off!

Dee Dee

Now that's funny! Technically I don't think you were in a county or a
state, you were in airspace. Funny what laws people dream up. All in the
name of our health and best interests, of course 😉

Jill

jmcquown said:

Dee Randall wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I don't know if they still do it, but years ago when you would fly
over a county (or state?), the stewardesses would announce there
would be no liquor served. What a hoot! I suppose nowadays if you
complained, they might throw you off!

Dee Dee

Now that's funny! Technically I don't think you were in a county or a
state, you were in airspace. Funny what laws people dream up. All in the
name of our health and best interests, of course 😉

Jill

Or someone's religious convictions.
--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974

The Cook said:

jmcquown said:

Dee Randall wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I don't know if they still do it, but years ago when you would fly
over a county (or state?), the stewardesses would announce there
would be no liquor served. What a hoot! I suppose nowadays if you
complained, they might throw you off!

Dee Dee

Now that's funny! Technically I don't think you were in a county or
a state, you were in airspace. Funny what laws people dream up.
All in the name of our health and best interests, of course 😉

Jill

Or someone's religious convictions.

True, Susan! I'd really rather not have to adhere to someone elses beliefs
about drinking or dancing or whatever. I'm pretty sure if I lived in Amish
country I wouldn't be forced to ride in an open buggy accompanied by an
elder simply because I'm a single female. Living here doesn't mean I
believe as you (the collective you, not you Susan!) do.

Jill

Gregory Morrow said:

People I know that lived in VA used to go to DC to load up on booze,
they said it was cheaper...

I live in DC and I believe that to still be true of the major liquor stores
here. Every Monday the Washington Post carries the ads of the most
competitive liquor stores. Some of the prices are pretty amazing. One does
have to take the tax rate into account, but I still believe the deals are
much better than the surrounding states.

The most competitive time is around the Christmas and New Years holidays.
Years ago (it may be 20 years ago by now), Virginia used to put agents in DC
at the liquor stores near the border. They would take down license plate
numbers in the liquor store parking lots and call them across to the
Virginia side, where the police would promptly pull the car over and arrest
the driver for importing excessive quantities of alcohol across the state
line without paying taxes. DC finally wised up to this... to operate in DC,
the Virginia agents needed a permit from DC. They were granting these
permits regularly up to this point. DC decided it wasn't in their best
interest to let Virginia agents operate in DC for the purpose of stopping
interstate transportation of alcohol. One of the places where this Virginia
stakeout regularly occurred was at the liquor stores in Georgetown at the DC
end of the Key Bridge. The Virginia police would be ready and waiting in
Rosslyn, at the Virginia end of the bridge.

Aside from price, the other reason Virginia and Maryland customers would buy
liquor in DC, particularly wine, was for the vastly better selection DC
offered. The rules for what liquor stores could carry are much easier than
in the adjacent states. I don't know the exact rules, but it has to do with
how retailers, wholesalers, and the wineries interact. I think it is
something like retailers can bypass the wholesalers and buy direct if the
wholesaler is not interested in carrying the wines. In Virginia, the rules
are very strict, and retailers can only buy through wholesalers. Because DC
has so many embassies, and so many people from around the world in various
functions, the demand for a big selection of wine is all out of proportion
to the relative size of the metro area. I've read that DC is in the top 2 or
3 nationally in terms of wine selection, even though it's population is
considerably smaller.

--
( #wff_ng_7# at #verizon# period #net# )

"wff_ng_7" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:kARLf.131$d61.72@trnddc05...

Quoted message said:

Gregory Morrow said:

People I know that lived in VA used to go to DC to load up on booze,
they said it was cheaper...

I live in DC and I believe that to still be true of the major liquor
stores here. Every Monday the Washington Post carries the ads of the most
competitive liquor stores. Some of the prices are pretty amazing. One does
have to take the tax rate into account, but I still believe the deals are
much better than the surrounding states.

The most competitive time is around the Christmas and New Years holidays.
Years ago (it may be 20 years ago by now), Virginia used to put agents in
DC at the liquor stores near the border. They would take down license
plate numbers in the liquor store parking lots and call them across to the
Virginia side, where the police would promptly pull the car over and
arrest the driver for importing excessive quantities of alcohol across the
state line without paying taxes. DC finally wised up to this... to operate
in DC, the Virginia agents needed a permit from DC. They were granting
these permits regularly up to this point. DC decided it wasn't in their
best interest to let Virginia agents operate in DC for the purpose of
stopping interstate transportation of alcohol. One of the places where
this Virginia stakeout regularly occurred was at the liquor stores in
Georgetown at the DC end of the Key Bridge. The Virginia police would be
ready and waiting in Rosslyn, at the Virginia end of the bridge.

Aside from price, the other reason Virginia and Maryland customers would
buy liquor in DC, particularly wine, was for the vastly better selection
DC offered. The rules for what liquor stores could carry are much easier
than in the adjacent states. I don't know the exact rules, but it has to
do with how retailers, wholesalers, and the wineries interact. I think it
is something like retailers can bypass the wholesalers and buy direct if
the wholesaler is not interested in carrying the wines. In Virginia, the
rules are very strict, and retailers can only buy through wholesalers.
Because DC has so many embassies, and so many people from around the world
in various functions, the demand for a big selection of wine is all out of
proportion to the relative size of the metro area. I've read that DC is in
the top 2 or 3 nationally in terms of wine selection, even though it's
population is considerably smaller.

We're going to Georgetown in a few weeks and go back and forth over the Key
Bridge. Hope the stakeout isn't still there -- tee hee. DH said there is
a wine store in Georgetown that is advertised that he said we should try.
I've always thought that since it's DC and people will pay any price there,
that buying wines in DC is probably paying MORE than less. Have you ever
heard of McArthur Beverages, 4877 McArthur Blvd., D.C.?
http://bassins.com/faq/

You say, "

Quoted message said:

In Virginia, the rules are very strict, and retailers can only buy through
wholesalers."

I had the opinion that Trader Joe's didn't buy their wine thru wholesalers,
but went to the vintners around the world to obtain their selection.

We are watching a movie "Mondovino" now (watched 1/2 of it last night) about
the wine business and opposition by 'some' of the French to have their
individual wineries taken over, and Mondavi's interest, etc etc etc It's a
long movie (2 hours) and a documentary with different aspects pro and con.
http://tinyurl.com/zuwc4 It didn't get rave reviews. He went on to make a
10 hour TV documentary about the same subject.

Thanks for all the information. It made a Saturday morning over tea more
lively.
Dee Dee

Dee Randall said:

We're going to Georgetown in a few weeks and go back and forth over the
Key Bridge. Hope the stakeout isn't still there -- tee hee.

I'm almost sure it was over 20 years ago that they last did that. The
enforcement was usually around the holidays, as that's when people bought
large quantities, like several cases worth. The sting was fairly easy to
evade... either buy from a retailer further from the border, like upper
Connecticut Ave., or drive back from Georgetown the long way, over the 14th
St. Bridge.

Though they don't do this type of enforcement for liquor anymore, Maryland
still does it at the DC border around the 4th of July for fireworks. Not
that DC has very good (powerful) fireworks, but I think even sparklers are
banned in Montgomery County, MD (if not the whole state). I don't remember
if Virginia does fireworks enforcement at the DC line.

Quoted message said:

DH said there is a wine store in Georgetown that is advertised that he
said we should try. I've always thought that since it's DC and people will
pay any price there, that buying wines in DC is probably paying MORE than
less. Have you ever heard of McArthur Beverages, 4877 McArthur Blvd.,
D.C.?
http://bassins.com/faq/

I've certainly heard of MacArthur Beverages, but I've never been there. The
two stores I regularly go to are Calvert Woodley at Connecticut and Van
Ness, and Schneiders of Capitol Hill on Massachusetts Ave near Union
Station. Calvert Woodley has excellent prices, great selection, plus has a
little deli selling many cheeses and lunchmeats. Schneiders is within
walking distance of my house, and has a very good selection too. Their
prices are not as good as some others though, but convenience trumps price
sometimes.

Calvert Woodley normally has a liquor ad in the Washington Post "A" section
on Mondays. On Wednesdays they have a deli ad in the food section. Their
weekly liquor ad is always available on their web site (under newsletters on
the right side). I use that as a reference for liquor pricing. They've had
one of my favorites, Cointreau, for as low as $22.88 this past holiday
season, and currently at $24.99. Compare that to $35.95 (750 ml bottle) at a
Virginia ABC store. For another comparison, Balvenie Doublewood (12 year)
single malt for $33.99 at Calvert Woodley, $52.95 at Virginia ABC store.

Calvert Woodley's web page is at:
www.calvertwoodley.com.
Schneider's web site is at:
www.cellar.com.

Virginia ABC Price List:
http://www.abc.state.va.us/Pricelist/price.html

I'm pretty sure the big liquor stores in DC are cheaper on distilled
spirits, even taking into account the higher taxes. The sales tax on liquor
in DC is 9%. I'm not sure what it is in Virginia. On wine, pricing
comparisons are a lot more complicated. The DC liquor stores are really
geared toward higher end small producers. Their focus is not on the mass
market brands that tend to be sold in supermarkets. I know I make a lot of
my purchases of everyday, simple wines in Virginia when I go food shopping
there. But for the more interesting stuff, I buy it in DC.

Quoted message said:

You say, "

Quoted message said:

In Virginia, the rules are very strict, and retailers can only buy through
wholesalers."

I had the opinion that Trader Joe's didn't buy their wine thru
wholesalers, but went to the vintners around the world to obtain their
selection.

I know that rule used to be true, but I wasn't sure if it was still in
effect (especially considering the recent US Supreme Court decision, which
affected a Virginia winery). So out of curiosity, I checked it out. That's
still the law in Virginia. Their Retail Licensee Guide states: "Licensees
must purchase wine and beer for resale only from wholesalers licensed to do
business in Virginia. [COV §4.1-326]". The guide is available at:
http://www.abc.state.va.us/licensing/downloads/LicGuide.pdf

Though Trader Joe's might not normally buy things through wholesalers, when
faced with local laws, it is sometimes bend your corporate policies or don't
sell the product at all. I know not selling the product at all is often the
choice made by many retailers.

--
( #wff_ng_7# at #verizon# period #net# )