(Wine-Searcher) - The Warren Buffet-owned McLane food distribution company moves forward with its quest for a Texas wine distribution license.

While it's debatable whether the US's three-tier, wine-distribution system may be outdated and inefficient, most of the industry players in Texas seem to be happy with its current structure. – both the Texas courts and local wine executives seem to be showing a cold shoulder to a food service company's continued push to get a wine distribution license in Texas.

The current system has been outdated for 40 years, says a beverage attorney on background. "The big guys control the capital and they are making a lot of money." But they also provide a great service, he adds. Perhaps that is why many key players still value their services in Texas.

The McLane Company Inc – which has sold food products in Texas since the 1980s through the AmeriServ and McLane Foodservice trademarks – has been litigating with the state's regulatory board the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) to get their own wine distribution license for several years.