The New York Wine Industry Association, the New York State Wine Grape Growers Association, the New York Farm Bureau, the Business Council of New York State, the Food Industry Alliance of New York State, the New York State Restaurant Association and allied businesses call upon Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to continue what former Governor Hugh L. Carey did to bring the New York wine industry to life.

“New York Farm Bureau has long supported the sale of wine in grocery stores because of the enormous opportunities that it would provide to New York’s wineries and grape growers,” said Dean Norton, President of New York Farm Bureau. “Studies have shown that making this common sense modification in state law would create more than 6,000 jobs in wineries and related industries and produce more than $70 million in new sales tax revenue. It’s long past time that we remove this barrier to consumer choice and job creation and become the thirty-sixth state to make this important change.”

In 1974 New York grape growers and Mark Miller, who founded the Benmarl Winery in the Hudson Valley, asked Governor Carey to re-formulate the winery license so grape growers could operate farm wineries profitably. Governor Carey led the way with a Governor’s bill – the Farm Winery Bill. He signed that Bill into Law in 1976, over objections from liquor stores, and New York wineries increased in number. Today New York wineries claim top prizes in international competitions.

Yet while more New York wineries gave liquor stores new selections of wine to sell in the late 1970’s, liquor stores closed showing that stores close for reasons other than competition. In states that allow wine to be sold in food stores liquor stores thrive even in the same shopping plaza as the grocery store.

In 1974 there were 19 wineries in New York State. Today there are more than 300 wineries. In 1974 there were 4,500 liquor stores in New York State through which those 19 wineries could sell their farm product to consumers. In 2012 there are fewer than 2,500 liquor stores through which more than 300 New York wineries can sell their farm product to consumers.

Wineries no longer have enough retail outlets in cities and towns to reach consumers with their farm product.

In 1984, former Governor Mario M. Cuomo initiated successful legislation permitting the sale of “wine coolers” (low-alcohol wine products) in grocery stores as well as liquor stores, which gave a major boost to New York’s grape farmers, as well as a “winery deregulation” law which helped small farm wineries better market their product. Both led to major benefits for New York’s economy, but once again, both were opposed by the liquor lobby. Because of those enlightened laws, however, today the New York grape and wine industry generates over $3.76 billion in economic benefits for the State of New York.

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According to a story from the Associated Press:

“When Billy Joel sang about “a bottle of white, a bottle of red” 40 years ago, the Long Island native probably wasn’t in a New York state of mind.

But the wine universe is growing and changing, and today New York regularly tangles with Washington state in a two-coast tussle to maintain the No. 2 spot in behind California for domestic wine production.”

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Tom Tobin of the Democrat and Chronicle writes:

“Support has increased in Monroe County for the idea of selling wine in grocery stores, even though the proposal has failed to get through the state Legislature in recent years.

Results of a new Voice of the Voter poll show that 51 percent now back the expansion of wine sales beyond liquor stores, up from 46 percent a year ago. Opposition also is up, but not by as much, to 45 percent from 43 percent last year.”

The article later states:

“Rob Lillpopp, a spokesman for the state Business Council, a lobbying organization that supports the change, said he expects next year’s coalition campaign to be even more vigorous.

“Your poll shows that a growing number of New Yorkers want the choice that this legislation represents,” Lillpopp said. “This issue got traction last year because people are starting to see it on its merits. The New York consumer should be able to have the same kind of access that is available in 35 other states.”

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Ashley Parker writes in the New York Times - ““WARNING: Wine Not Beer,” reads the disclaimer on the draft handle behind the bar at Terroir Tribeca, a wine bar on Harrison Street in Manhattan. You’ll find the same thing at the restaurants Buttermilk Channel and Colicchio & Sons, where the taps dispense red, white and rosé, all from a keg-wine company known as the Gotham Project.

Serving some wines by the glass straight from the barrel has long been a practice in Europe, and it slowly began catching on in California seven or eight years ago. In New York, Daniel Boulud’s downtown outpost, DBGB, and City Winery, which opened in 2009, also pour wines on tap.

But at a growing number of restaurants, many of them trendy locavore spots known as much for their cutting-edge attitudes as for their culinary prowess, the draft wine comes from Gotham, which was founded in 2010. Gotham installed its first tap, dispensing riesling, at Terroir Tribeca when it opened in April 2010.”

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Owners want their bottles in more stores, restaurants

Jeffery Blackwell writes on pressconnects.com - “With much of New York’s economy in slow decline, the wine industry is providing a bright spot, especially in the Finger Lakes, the state’s largest wine-producing region.

The industry generates $3.75 billion in annual economic activity, including employment, tourism, new investment and sales revenues, according to the Canandaigua-based New York Wine & Grape Foundation.

And each year the number of wineries continues to grow, to a total of 307 statewide.”

to read more click here.

“With much of New York’s economy in slow decline, the wine industry is providing a bright spot, especially in the Finger Lakes, the state’s largest wine-producing region.” writes Jeffery Blackwell in the Democrat and Chronicle.

“The industry generates $3.75 billion in annual economic activity, including employment, tourism, new investment and sales revenues, according to the Canandaigua-based New York Wine & Grape Foundation.

And each year the number of wineries continues to grow, to a total of 307 statewide.”

To read more click here.

According a Siena College Research Institute poll of registered voters released today - “A strong majority of Democrats, Republicans and independents support passing a law to allow wine to be sold in supermarkets and grocery stores. There is support in every region, with strongest support in the downstate suburbs. Younger voters support it more than older voters,” Greenberg said. “And ironically the only two demographic groups that oppose wine being sold in grocery stores – albeit by small majorities – are two groups not often aligned on issues: conservatives and African American voters.”

To read more results click here.

Proposal to allow grocers to sell wine sparks renewed debate on issue

“The lines are well-formed, but once again, some state legislators are pushing a bill that would legalize the sale of wine in grocery stores.” writes Jimmy Vielkind in the Times Union.

At a roundtable convened Monday by the measure’s legislative sponsors — Sen. Tom O’Mara, R-Big Flats, and Assemblyman Joe Morelle, D-Rochester — the vice chairman of Wegmans supermarkets argued with an East Greenbush liquor store owner about the bill.

…Representatives from the Business Council and Farm Bureau have endorsed the legislation, which they argued would stimulate growth among New York’s wineries.

Paul Speranza, vice chair of Rochester-based Wegmans, said it would create over 250 “meaningful” jobs if his stores could sell wine.”

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Neil Kratzer an owner of The Wine Room in Williamsville, out side of Buffalo writes in the Buffalo News.

“As the owner of a liquor store in Williamsville for the last five years, I sometimes feel more like a sales tax collector than the entrepreneur I want to be.

That’s because New York State law prohibits me from expanding my business with any other products beyond liquor and wine. And it limits the way I purchase products for resale.

With New York State in financial distress, the proposal of wine sales in grocery stores is still a viable consideration for generating revenue to help balance our state budget.

To that end, Albany is still looking at the financial benefits of such a change in legislation. What nobody talks about are the benefits for liquor store owners of such a “change.”

Even my industry peers won’t address the positive opportunities such a change could bring for consumers and the state. The new proposal being discussed in Albany would get rid of the many restrictions liquor stores face as small business owners.”

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Nick Reisman writes on pressconnects.com - “The proposed state budget doesn’t include allowing grocery stores to sell wine or letting New York host mixed martial arts fights, but supporters are arguing that the measures should be adopted to raise revenue for the cash-strapped state.

At the same time, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget does rely on raising money from the collection of tobacco taxes from sales on Indian reservations, a provision that faces a stiff legal challenge from tribes.

Cuomo’s budget proposal for the 2011-12 fiscal year, which begins April 1, closes a $10 billion budget deficit by making steep cuts to spending for schools and Medicaid, the health care program for the poor.

The total budget calls for $132.9 billion in spending, a 2.3 percent decline from the current 2010-11 fiscal year.

The proposal does not include any tax hikes, but does contain some revenue-raisers, including a surcharge for the racing industry.”

To read more click here.