The National Rifle Association has hosted a wine club since 2007, but word of it recently hit the news cycle to dramatic effect. Now, an Australian winery is pulling its wines from the club in protest against the NRA's views.
Barossa Valley winery Yalumba told the Herald Sun that it was unaware how four of its wines were placed as selections on the NRA's wine club, but that it will either withdraw its wine stock or, at the very least, stop supplying it in the future.
Owner Robert Hill Smith explained the move:
"Philosophically, I'm not disposed towards the NRA, which runs counter to my family's, and I would think all my employees', positions on gun laws."
The publication spoke to other Australian producers that were unaware that their wines were also among the NRA club's wine listings. Peter Barry, the owner of Jim Barry Wines, said that the appearance of his wine's on the list was "five steps removed from when I sell the wine."
The NRA Wine Club is run with help from wine club specialist Vinesse. The club's website asks wine-lovers to "Support the National Rifle Association and America’s second Amendment rights by purchasing your wine through the NRA Wine Club." NRA membership is not a prerequisite to joining the wine club, but a portion of the profits from the hundreds of wines available online go directly to the NRA.
Counterintuitively, the NRA's membership has seen a sharp rise since the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn. -- likely due to critics of a mainstream call for stricter gun control laws. In the month following the shooting, membership rose by 250,000 people.
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