FI and I are having trouble getting to a good spot with alcohol for our reception. Our venue is an inn with a restaurant (but in a ballroom, not the restaurant itself). They said that they can get us whatever wine we want as long as there is a distributor in Maine that sells it. Now they are saying that they can still do that, but they will charge us for everything they have to buy (versus if we go with their wines, it's consumption-based), and they are not able to give us the leftovers because they don't have a package license.
We have tried their house wines, and they're not great. I don't think we're being bratty and insisting on certain wines, we just want something that will taste good and not be a ridiculous price. We will try their more expensive wines, but it's frustrating because there are plenty of inexpensive wines that we like that would be inexpensive even with the inn's mark up. Plus, they charge what they would charge guests in their restaurant for wine, even though there's a bartender fee included in our package, which is an added frustration that I don't think we can do anything about.
I would love if someone had ideas about how Maine liquor laws actually work (I want to make sure they're being honest in what they're telling us). Have you had a similar experience with your venue? Sorry that this post is also part vent/rant.