A little about our company

Orogenesis, Inc. was founded in March of 2000.  We are licensed wholesale distributor of Alcoholic Beverages.  We represent our brands exclusively in Texas.  We sell our products only to licensed Texas retailers.  Our company strives to provide great products, great service, and competitive pricing.  Orogenesis, Inc. is the second tier of the three tier system of alcoholic beverage distribution. To learn more about the three tier system please read the following excerpt from the American for Responsible Alcohol Access web site.  Please visit their site at www.araa.org

Before Prohibition

From the colonial times until 1919 when the 18th Amendment ushered in Prohibition, alcohol beverages were sold in a free-wheeling, free-market system. The system had only two tiers-suppliers and retailers. Producers of spirits and beer (wine was a minor market back then) frequently owned their own retail outlets. Suppliers usually were larger and had more capital than retailers and using loans, mortgages and threats to cut off supply, they sought to control retailers through intimidation and corruption. Besides pressuring retailers to carry only their brands, they pushed them to increase sales regardless of the social consequences.

Economic issues joined social issues to encourage Prohibition. During World War I, the diversion of grain from food into beer production, and the German heritage of many brewery owners, fueled an outcry against an otherwise minor use of grain. By playing on issues of food shortages and anti-German hysteria, abstinence advocates were able to achieve that which they were unable to achieve from their "evils of alcohol" argument-the 18th Amendment ushered in Prohibition in 1919. The Volstead Act, passed a year later, was designed to enforce Prohibition. When Prohibition was repealed by the 21st Amendent in 1923, the public was determined to avoid the marketing abuses that led to Prohibition in the first place. Hence, they created the three-tier system.

The Three-tier System Explained

Wine and spirits are distributed in the United States today through what is called the "three-tier system." The three tiers are producers, wholesalers and retailers. This system was formed by states following Prohibition to prevent the recurrence of marketing abuses that characterized supplier-retailer relationships before Prohibition. States established wine and spirits wholesalers as the middle tier separating producers from retailers.

The three-tier system was created by conscious decision of the federal and state legislatures to treat alcoholic beverages as a special category of products deserving regulatory treatment different from most other products. It serves a critical role--our societal control over the distribution and availability of beverage alcohol that deters underage access.

Alcohol Control in the U.S. is a State Matter

Except for general guidelines in the Federal Alcohol Administration Act, the control of alcoholic beverages is a state matter. Regulations and laws vary by state. In some, referred to as "control states," the state government serves as the wholesaler (and often the retailer as well) for wine and spirits (beer is sold through the private sector in all states). Although a menagerie of state laws and regulations control the alcohol beverage industry, all states have mandated the separation of the production tier from retailing.

The Role of Wholesalers

Wine and spirits wholesalers serve as "order consolidators," reducing the number of transactions required for all suppliers to reach all retailers. As a result, even smaller suppliers have potential access to the 300,000 wine and spirits retailers in the U.S. In addition, wholesalers serve as conduits to suppliers for local market information, extend credit, provide local merchandising support, and reduce the amount of inventory that suppliers and retailers need to carry. Consumers benefit from wider distribution of products and lower prices stemming from the distribution and marketing efficiencies built into the system.

Does the System Protect Wholesalers Over the Small Vintner?

No. This is a bogus argument advanced by direct shippers who want to operate outside the system. When wine and spirits wholesaling is tested for strength of competition, the industry was found to exhibit many characteristics of competitive industries. Returns on sales and net worth are at or below the average for overall wholesaling. Numerous wholesalers compete in virtually every market, and entry by new wholesalers is constant. Wholesalers deal with large numbers of suppliers and each sells to hundreds of retailers. Market shares or leading suppliers and brands shift rapidly, and new brand introductions abound, even from the smallest suppliers.