The three-tier system is a uniquely American system, born of Prohibition, that serves 98 percent of U.S. wine consumers well. Alternatively, it is an unnecessary and inefficient cost of doing business, and in extreme cases, it is legalized extortion that needs to be eliminated. Such were the views expressed at "Wine Distribution: A View from the Street," a one-hour presentation at the Master of Wine Symposium at Silverado Country Club in Napa on the last weekend in June. Alan Dreeben, vic...