This week’s blog posts were a little delayed because we were running around on Friday getting ready to go to Montgomery for the wedding of one of Hubby’s high school friends on Saturday. Normally I don’t like going to Montgomery. I survived four years of college there, and just in case you were wondering how boring it was, we were all terribly excited when the Barnes & Noble opened because there was finally something to do past 9:00 p.m.
This time, we had a mission. In August, Alabama’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board banned Cycles Gladiator wine from sale in the state because of the “obscene” label. For my letter of objection, click here. To protest this stupid ban, we decided to take the Cycles Gladiator wine nymph on a tour of the capital city. The first stop, of course, was the welcome center, where I’ve always wondered about these stone thingies:
Well, Alabama, we dare defend our wine-drinking rights!
To be fair, I hadn’t noticed them until a friend from Tennessee pointed them out. He said they frightened him. He’s a Tennessee fan, so I didn’t reassure him too much.
Saturday morning brought us to the state farmers’ market:
And if you think the wine nymph is obscene, you should check out these squash!
We tried to get close to the Capitol itself on Saturday, but they had set up road blocks, and it was impossible. We thought they’d been reading our tweets and knew we were coming, but it turns out that there was a marathon. We had more success on Sunday. So, here is the Cycles Gladiator nymph innocently riding by the Alabama State Capitol:
And here we are at the first White House of the Confederacy:
I particularly like that one because Gen. Robert E. Lee, one of the heroes of the Confederacy, was from Virginia, which is a state that makes great wine. We’re pretty sure he would think the ban is silly. Maybe his ghost will rise up and scare some sense into the Alabama legislators, many of whom probably revere him and still refer to the Civil War as “the woh-wah of Nohthen aggression (because there wasn’t nothin’ civil about it).” No, my butt isn’t that big; the breeze is billowing my jacket.
If you’d like your own shirt to protest Alabama’s ban, check out the offerings at Cafe Press (nope, not getting paid to advertise this).
Want to see what trouble I’m getting into in real time? Follow me on Twitter (@RandomOenophile)!
That is the coolest wine travel pictorial I have ever seen. Thanks for posting.
Lisa
PS. I'm in Sales for Hahn Family Wines (and Cycles Gladiator) …for full disclosure đŸ™‚
Thank you for sharing your story and posting these pictures. And a special thank you for giving "Belle" our nude nymph friend the grand tour!
Cheers,
Philip Woodrow
Hahn Family Wines
(And native Alabamian)
@philular
@hahnwines
Thanks, Lisa and Philip! It was fun, and now my Mother-in-law wants one of the shirts. There are many Alabamians who think the whole banned thing is ridiculous.
Great post!! Banish the "blue laws" for true freedom and justice for all!! I called the AL. liquor control since the statute states a "person" can't be found to be obscene; certainly not a poster. I was told by one of the agents…" well, if yur gonna split hairs". The complaint was also anonymous! At that point I realized the department is run by neanderthals still awaiting the 21st century. Keep up the good fight!! I live in California now and empathize with you. I lived in KY for four years and even KY isn't that backward!