Grapevine: No sour grapes in wine bill, balk to Washington

January 30. 2012 3:00AM

Grapevine: No sour grapes in wine bill, balk to Washington

No sour grapes in wine bill
The success of the bill allowing both the direct shipment of wines from wineries and the opening of wine kiosks within other facilities continues to intrigue Trenton observers.

For pro-shipping lobbyist Steven Some, there's no mystery behind the bill's success. Steve Sweeney became a passionate supporter because he understands the benefits to his district and the state's wine industry, the Capital Public Affairs president said.

But bill opponents have raised questions about whether out-of-state wineries were the secret force behind the bill, a position that Some said "is a bold-faced lie," adding that the force behind the bill was "100 percent" the New Jersey wine industry. The bill was supported by the Wine Institute, a California winery association. A Wine Institute estimate that 90 percent of American winemakers would be excluded by the bill from shipping to New Jersey appeared in the fiscal analysis accompanying the bill.

At least one prominent California winery owner with New Jersey ties could benefit. The family of Ray Chambers, part-owner of the New Jersey Devils, owns Lambert Bridge, a winery that ships to many states other than New Jersey. Some said he wasn't aware that Chambers owned a California winery until told that fact by Grapevine.

Balk to Washington
Dissed Democrats were disgusted last week that only Chris Christie would be speaking at the state chamber's Walk to Washington dinner. Democrats were dumped from the lineup because, according to the chamber, last year's attendees had said they wanted fewer speeches during the event. Word at press time was that some Democratic members of the congressional delegation were not even going to attend the dinner.

"They're all miffed," said one Democrat. "You might as well take a train down to Trenton if you just want to hear Christie speak."

Or maybe a train to Atlantic City?

Grapevine reported in December the chatter that the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce might move the annual train trip to the casino resort. AC legislators have pushed for the move in the past, but a stumbling block was that D.C. lawmakers would flip out if the event got moved. However, the AC forces will draw an ace if they can paint the congressional delegation as being the ones who started the grand blow-off.

A chamber representative told Grapevine in December that any discussion about moving the location of the event was still at the chamber's board of directors level.

No timeline emerging
So now the big question on the Rutgers-UMDNJ merger is: When? Grapevine has been hearing the merger would be "done" by June or July, but others have pooh-poohed that date, saying it's impossible to have it completed by then. So then the question becomes: What does "done" mean? The one thing made clear by those hearing the buzz about quick implementation is that the powers that be want to be able to tell the new Rutgers president what he or she will be overseeing, post-merger. Christie seemed to allude to that by saying at his Jan. 25 press conference that implementing the recommendations would help in the presidential search. Perhaps the biggest question of all: When will the new Rutgers president be selected?

A Christie spokesman wouldn't comment on whether the merger would be done around the end of this school year. He reiterated that the governor is committed to making the recommendations happen. He added that "we have a process that we are beginning." Christie said he would be reaching out to the Legislature and other stakeholders, while the UMDNJ Advisory Committee said in its report that it would address the timeline to implement the recommendations in a future report. The recommendations "are not going to be shelved or go idle," the spokesman said.

For the Boss, sky's the limit
A tipster says Bruce Springsteen and his bandmates have been rehearsing at an airport hangar near Red Bank in Monmouth County. A full-size replica stage for Springsteen's upcoming tour has been built in the hangar, according to the source.

To prepare for the quick dialing needed when concert tickets go on sale, Grapevine flexed its fingers and called five area airports. All denied that the Boss was pounding out tunes on their properties.

The closed Hop Brook Farm Airport, in Holmdel, has a hangar filled with farm equipment, according to someone who answered a call. The hangar also has an open doorway — not too conducive to January jamming. The worker said if Springsteen were there, the airport's boss would be hanging there, too, which was not the case last week.

Grapevine reports on the behind-the-scenes buzz in the business community. Contact Editor Sharon Waters at swaters@njbiz.com.