Good Morning!

I had planned on writing my blog outlining my vacation and what I had to drink but then I noticed the date and had to pay tribute to the 21st Amendment!

What’s up with the out law of any beverage that could provide a buzz back in 1920? For the next 13 years the 18th amendment was a law that in general said any manufacturing, sales and transportation of alcohol was illegal. The only exception was wine for communion at church or for home winemakers. Just a couple of months ago I watched the documentary by Ken Burns on PBS, called Prohibition. It was a 3 night series and a total of 5 plus hours of information.

The documentary was well laid out, discussing the religious reasons for the amendment and then the boot-legging and other “ways” around the laws. It was really interesting to hear about the winery and vineyard side of this law. Many wineries shut done or up-rooted plants and planted other crops. It was only legal to ship grape juice to home winemakers back east and there was a limit to how much each winemaker could make at home.

If you get a chance to see the series, it is very informative and well done. I recently read the book From Demon to Darling by Richard Mendelson and it is a awesome book on the legal history of wine and I particularly found the insight provided about how much revenue the wine business creates, not just considering the sales volume, but the jobs the industry creates, the other industries that have been created because of the sales of wine.

The alcohol industry is a multi-billion dollar industry and I read also that when the country is feeling stressed, like during a war or economically challenging times, the sales of alcohol raises as well. People spend less on luxuries and spend more time at home and they will splurge a little more on wine, but they will cook at home. I also read in the same article that the last thing families will cut out is carry out pizza….I thought that was kinda funny, so I thought I would share that with you!

Back to prohibition, I am not one to question why we have many laws, I assume they are made to either protect us from something or to help someone. Yes, I know I could open a whole can of political worms here, so I will not say anymore, but that is my sincere hope of why we have laws. I am sure when the law first passed, too many folks were drinking way too much and someone wanted to protect them and there might have been folks who made some money from the law passing.

As I watched the documentary, I saw how much power women and churches had and it was exciting to see how a few folks with a vision and passion could create interest and change. That part made me feel empowered.

Right or wrong the 21st amendment is here to stay and I am happy about it, I love making wine and enjoy drinking all wines. I guess if I could not make wine for a living, I would have to find a creative way to express myself!

Tomorrow, I will tell you about the wine my mama and I enjoyed last week and I will start blogging about the wines I am going to ask Santa to deliver to my cellar!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi