Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/2622
/ the tasting panel / september 2009 The United States is a big country, made up of many diverse people and points of view. Sometimes these differences add texture and depth to our culture; some- times they're just plain idiotic. Take the sovereign state of Alabama, for instance. (Whadaya mean there are no takers?) Here in the home of such cultural icons as the Talladega Superspeedway and the National Pea- nut Festival—here in the state that has the second-lowest high school graduation rate (only Mississippi is worse)—the Alcohol- ic Beverage Control Board has seen fit to ban the sale of Cycles Gladiator Pinot Noir because the label—a reproduction of a famous 1895 Belle Epoch poster advertising a bicycle—shows a nude nymph. The board's attorney says the depiction of a naked female violates Alabama's laws against showing "a person posed in an immoral or sensuous manner" on a wine label. Imagine what they would do if they ever saw Michelangelo's David over there in Eye-tally. The result of this redneck ruling by the State of Ala- bama is that interest in the cited wine has intensified. Visits to the Hahn Family Wines (the producer of Cycles Gladiator wines) website have reportedly increased tenfold. The President of Hahn has been quoted as saying, "There is going to be a significant increase in our sales." I would assume that, as a result of this, other enterprising vintners might spice up their labels to boost sales. How about a whole line of mildly pornographic labels based on the illustra- tions in the Kama Sutra? They might be banned in more states than just Alabama, but imagine how well they would sell in Las Vegas. It's a pity and a nuisance that alcoholic beverages have to be filtered through 50 sets of rules and regulations—even now, 75 years after the repeal of Prohibition. It would be wonderful if we could all be united behind a uniform set of mature and reasonable laws. Who am I kidding? From the Editor United in Name Only