In a sure sign that the wine industry is being heavily influenced by technology, Chateau Petrus has started a Twitter account and will be tweeting regularly about all aspects of their business. Petrus has been in production for over 200 years and management is famous for spurning technological innovations such as micro-oxygenation, electronic filtering, and electric power. The move to Twitter shocked many and is widely regarded as a desperate plea to reach out to a newer, younger customer base in these difficult economic times

“Well when you set your release prices in the quadruple digit range in the face of the biggest global financial disaster since the Paleolithic Age, you need to find more people who are willing to pay our prices,” said Suzanna Cardiffe, public relations manager at the Chateau.

“The game is changing,” said Gary Vaynerchuk.

Not everyone is convinced that the move will prove to be a benefit to wine lovers. “Until they Tweet that their prices have come down 90%, they can stick their thumb drives up their ports,” an Area Wine Lover said.

“Please RT,” Vaynerchuk added.

Twitter, the micro-blogging service launched in 2006, allows its users to post 140 character updates to their personal feeds. Readers, or “followers” in Twitter terms, subscribe to the updates and can comment on them or pass them along. The service has seen unprecedented rapid growth ad of late. Studies show that people who use Twitter have better networking skills, earn higher salaries, sleep through the night after just four weeks, and can make thirty minute brownies in just twenty minutes.

Petrus believes that Twitter will fit in fine with their new, forward-thinking business plan. “We hired a high-school kid to just walk around the estate and punch in updates. He’s drunk and stoned half the time, but he really likes following all the P.R. people on Twitter because they update every three minutes,” said Cardiffe.

Link to Chateau Petrus’ Twitter account

The details of the letter, and my reason for not posting it, is that the arguments made therein (and in every hearing thus far) aren’t the real issue. Sales to minors and lost tax revenue are the battle cry of the opponents, but it isn’t what motivates them. Both arguments have been refuted over and over, here on this blog and plenty of other places. It is a deflecting argument meant to get people arguing over the wrong things. Of course nobody wants minors to gain access to alcohol. What the opposition has done is force people who are for wine shipping to also be for increased access to alcohol by minors. It’s a sneaky trick.

Make no mistake: The issue is control of alcohol sales in Maryland. The distributors have control and don’t want to relinquish it.

If you’re truly passionate about the issue there are two things you can do. First, contact your state representatives and let them know how you feel. Be jaded all you want about government but contacting these people will yield actual results. Emails are good but phone calls and actual US Mail letters are better. Second, check with your local retailer and see how he or she feels about direct wine shipping and if they are for or against the bills; and patronize wine shops accordingly. This particular letter of opposition was sent by a representative of Bay Ridge Wine & Spirits. I’ve never been there, and I won’t go now.