
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, October 22, 1993                   TAG: 9310220053
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ALEXANDRIA                                LENGTH: Short

VA. WINE PRICES FIXED?

Five Virginia wine distributors, including Blue Ridge Distributing Co. Inc. of Roanoke, are accused of illegally fixing their prices, according to a lawsuit filed by retail magnate Herbert Haft.

Haft's Dart Group Corp. alleges in the U.S. District Court suit that Washington's largest distributor, Forman Distributing Co. of Virginia Inc., and four others have "entered into an unlawful conspiracy" to divide up sales territories to "fix prices for wine in Virginia generally, and Northern Virginia in particular, at artificially high levels."

The other companies named are Associated Distributors Inc. of Chesapeake, Broudy-Kantor Co. Inc. of Norfolk and House of Beverages Inc. of Danville.

Haft told The Washington Post, "These guys may not care what the retailer has to pay, but, in the end, all the high prices are passed on to the consumers."

Forman had no immediate comment on the suit.

Blue Ridge Distributing president Regine N. Archer declined to comment Thursday, saying she had not seen the suit. "I have no knowledge of being named as a defendant in a suit," she said.

One of Haft's companies is Total Beverage Corp., a discount liquor operation that started as a Chantilly store last year and is expanding into Manassas and Alexandria this month.

Haft said a friend told him he paid $58 for a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne at a District of Columbia restaurant, while Total paid $72 in Northern Virginia.

Both bottles were from Forman companies, which operate separately in the District of Columbia, Virginia and Maryland.

by CNB