Wineries, businesses push for selling wine in food stores (updated)
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- March
- 16
New Yorkers for Economic Growth, a coalition of wineries, unions and other small businesses, are urging lawmakers to support the sale of wine in grocery stores, as proposed in Gov. David Paterson’s state budget proposal. License fees from wine in grocery stores would raise an estimated $300 million.
New York’s wine industry is struggling, and nine wineries closed down last year as a result, New York Wine Industry Association President Scott Osborn said at a news conference this morning.
“The opportunity to increase revenue without raising taxes or eliminating valuable personnel should not be overlooked. By increasing the amount of outlets to sell our wines, our industry would grow many times over,” Osburn said. “If wine is sold in food stores, the increase in the demand for New York wines would use up all the grapes that are now being dropped on the ground or sold for a loss by the growers.”
Thirty-five other states allow the sale of wine in grocery stores, and a recent Siena College poll found that 60 percent of New Yorkers support the measure, according to the coalition. Last year, wineries left more than 3,000 tons of grapes on the vine, the equivalent of 186,000 cases of wine, Osburn said.
Meanwhile today, the Last Store on Main Street Coalition said in a statement that it was renewing its call for the governor to release economic and fiscal studies leading to his administration’s projection of $300 million. The governor needs to “justify the fantasy revenues he projects from his job-killing plan to legalize wine sales in 19,000 new outlets.”
Deric West, owner of Honeoye Falls Market Place and Mendow Meadows Market Place in Monroe County said his customers are “clamoring” for more New York state products. The Legislature has an opportunity to bring more revenue into state coffers and capitalize on the entrepreneurialism of New York residents by allowing wine in grocery stores, he said.
Ruben Rodriguez of New Roc Wines and Liquors in New Rochelle, Westchester County, said the liquor industry, which has been vocal in its opposition to the proposal, does not represent liquor store owners like him.
The legislation would allow him to sell more products in his store, allow for cooperative buying so stores can buy in bulk, and extend the 30-day term for paying the wholesalers to 60 days, which would give small business owners like him more breathing room, he said. Currently, anyone in default on a payment to a wholesaler can’t buy from anyone else, and that would change if the proposal were enacted, he said.
Julie Suarez of the New York Farm Bureau said wine in grocery stores is an important opportunity for members to expand their ability to grow. “It is condescending for anybody to tell us that our New York wineries and our New York grape growers cannot compete in an open and fair marketplace,” she said.
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on Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 at 12:25 pm by Cara Matthews.
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Cara Matthews has been a statehouse correspondent in the Albany Bureau since August 2005. Prior to that, she covered Putnam County government and politics at The Journal News for nearly five years. Before that, she worked at newspapers in Connecticut and covered the state Legislature for one of them. 
If the state wasn’t in such disrepair, we would not even think of promoting a measure like this. Fix the problem, the overspending! Leave small business alone! Go to Laststoreonmainstreet.com to support your local wine shop and send a letter to you elected officials letting them know you want this measure out of the budget.
This proposal will put more than a thousand small liquor stores out of business. They simply cannot compete with the buying power of the big box chains. The NY Wineries are kidding themselves if they think that their wines will be sold by these chain stores. A few choice mainstream Long Island wine such as Pindar maybe.. The items you will see in grocery stores will be big bulk, mainstream, value brands like Yellow Tail, Cavit, Sutter Home, Gato Negro, Gallo wines, to mention a few. These items are the bread and butter of the liquor stores that exist currently. Wine sales account for more than 60% of their business. As liquor stores start disappearing, so will the jobs of the salespeople who service these accounts.
The proposal also wants to let restaurants and bars buy from liquor stores. Doesn’t anyone realize that this goes on already (illegally). Why? Because these restaurants and bars pay cash and hide their purchases…thus reporting less tax revenue from sales. If this proposal goes through, this will open up the floodgates for these businesses to steal tax revenue three fold (thats a conservative estimate)Also it will put the salespeople who service these restaurants and bars out of a job. These establishments have little reason to want to buy legally from a distributor. How is this proposal a good idea when it will put so many people on the unemployment roles at a time when our economy and job market are in such trouble?! Not too mention the empty storefronts it will be creating.
And from a safety standpoint, who do you think will be more responsible for keeping alcohol out of the hands of minors? A clerk(probably a minor) in a supermarket making $8.00 an hour and has nothing to lose by selling to their underage friends. OR a retailer who knows that if he sells to underage he stands to have his license suspended or possibly revoked?
If the supermarket is caught, they can still remain open, having thousands of other items to sell. If a retail liquor store has their license suspended, thats it..the doors close.
The Governor’s estimate of revenue this will create is totally bogus. I would like to see just how he came up with this number. The higher he estimates, the more favorable this proposal seems. Let’s save the jobs and businesses of those who give back to the community. Small business is the backbone of this county! Let’s also keep our kids safe too and tell the Governor that this is a dangerous idea!
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