Consumers, Business, Winemakers, Large and Small Grocers Agree on the Benefits of Wine Sales in Grocery Stores

ALBANY, NY (03/24/2009)(readMedia)-- A broad coalition representing consumers, New York's business community, winemakers, Main Street grocers, bodega owners, convenience stores, farmers, and many others today delivered to top state elected officials more than 70,000 postcards that New York State consumers used to urge regulatory reforms that would allow the sale of wine in grocery stores.

Key state lawmakers - including Assembly member Keith Wright (D-Manhattan), Assembly member Joseph Morelle (D-Monroe County), Senator Pedro Espada (D-the Bronx), Senator Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn), Senator Thomas Duane (D-Manhattan), Assembly member William F. Boyland Jr. (D-Brooklyn), Assembly member Micah Kellner (D-Manhattan), and Assembly member Nelson Castro (D-the Bronx) - were expected to join an Albany press conference Tuesday. At that event, coalition members planned to highlight the postcards, the intensifying groundswell of support for wine sales in grocery stores, and the benefits to state government and taxpayers of $160 million in revenues over two years that the reform would produce - without a tax increase.

"The time has come for New York wine," said Christina Minardi, northeast regional president of Whole Foods Market. "There are dozens of great vineyards on Long Island and upstate New York. Whole Foods Market has a great history of working with local vendors, and if the legislators give the people what they want, we can create thousands of jobs, as well as make it easier for busy New Yorkers to buy these great products."

Added Minardi: "We hope that legislators will take a common sense approach to this issue. With 35 other states allowing wine sales in grocery stores, and those states actually supporting more liquor stores per capita than New York, we see a future where wine is sold in grocery stores and the liquor store owners are allowed to expand their business as well. We believe this approach will benefit all New Yorkers."

The postcards were collected at grocery stores across New York State that invited shoppers to express support for wine sales in grocery stores. After the press conference, copies of all 70,000 postcards were to be delivered to Governor David Paterson, Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Grocery stores are still inviting shoppers to complete postcards, and more postcards are expected to be delivered to elected officials in the week ahead.

Ms. Minardi was joined at the press conference by: Kenneth Adams, president and CEO of the Business Council; Nicholas D'Agostino III, president and COO of D'Agostino Supermarkets of Larchmont, Westchester County, and the chairman of the Food Industry Alliance of New York State; Scott Osborn of Fox Run Vineyards, a top New York State winemaker; and Deric West, a small-town grocer from the Rochester region.

Mr. Adams said, "Allowing wine sales in grocery stores would benefit consumers, state government, taxpayers and businesses, both small and large in many sectors. Consumers will save about $80 million a year, our winemaking industry would get a boost, new jobs would be created and Albany will gain about $160 million in revenues in the first two years without raising taxes. There aren't many policy decisions in Albany that can deliver so many benefits to so many sectors of society."

Mr. D'Agostino said, "There are 35 other states that already allow wine sales in grocery stores, and the Food Industry Association of New York State believes that New York State consumers deserve the same choice and convenience that consumers get in these other states. Regulatory reform should level the playing field for all of us, and that would include loosening restrictions on liquor stores' ability to sell other products."

Scott Osborn, owner of the award-winning Fox Run Vineyards, said, "New York has an opportunity to be a world leader in the lucrative wine industry but for so long, antiquated laws have made it impossible for our business to succeed and expand. If only 15 percent of the grocery stores were able to carry my product, I would have to triple my production and my payroll. At a time when New York is looking to create jobs and boost state revenue, this common sense policy is a no-brainer."

"In many small towns across New York State, supermarkets are the linchpin of the community and the Main Street economy - and allowing wine sales in grocery stores is needed to sustain these small businesses," said Deric West, who operates small grocery stores in two Monroe County communities, Honeoye Falls and Mendon. "Allowing wine sales in grocery stores would give consumers the convenience they are looking for. And while helping consumers, we'll be strengthening New York's independent business sector - our small supermarkets, our wineries, and the New York State economy as a whole."

Assembly member Keith L.T. Wright of Harlem said, "Governor Paterson is showing a great acumen of policy in this proposal, realizing that New York State must make the easy choices in this budget, to clear the way for a proactive and intelligent discourse on how to best mitigate the looming budget deficit our state faces. We have an opportunity right now to make a simple change to an outdated law and immediately raise more than $160 million is desperately needed new revenue for New York's children, families, teachers, doctors, the homeless, the jobless and the increasingly hopeless without a single cent in new taxes. As Chairman of the Standing Committee on Social Services, I cannot let this opportunity pass us by."

State Assembly member Joe Morelle said, "New York must work to shape a new economy that is rooted in knowledge and intensively entrepreneurial, and both of those things clearly describe our winemaking industry. We know that this industry has great potential for growth, but we also know that in recent years it has lost competitive ground. By providing more outlets for wine sales, this will give this sector a boost that can make it a more powerful force in job creation and New York's economy."

State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr. said, "In times of economic crisis, it is essential that we do everything we can to ensure that New York remains competitive across every industry. Today, 75-year old laws are still stifling growth in our wine and spirits industries. It's time that we made the progressive, common sense policy decisions to not only allow for the sale of wine in grocery stores, but to permit liquor stores to expand their business through additional locations and new product offerings."

State Senator Kevin Parker said, "Today, the small, independent grocers and bodegas that feed many underserved communities are going out of business, eliminating an important food source for many neighborhoods. Permitting wine in grocery stores will allow this community of small entrepreneurs to add new products to their shelves, increase their revenues and grow the businesses that serve so many New York families."

State Assembly member William Boyland, Jr. said: "Economic development has always been a huge priority for me, so I'm thrilled to support an initiative that has such a huge upside in terms of investment and job creation - especially for the State's wine industry. New York's wine industry has been losing ground to other states, and it's about time we realized that we're going to be passed by formerly unheard-of wine producing states like North Carolina if we don't wake up and make this common sense change."

Background on wine in grocery stores

New York's consumers support the idea by a two to one margin, citing improvements in consumer choice, convenience, and cost. They also praised the likelihood of more jobs in wine-related industries and more growth opportunities for New York's wineries.

The regulatory change is expected to generate some $160 million in new revenues for schools and hospitals over the next two years without a tax increase. It is also expected to save consumers at least $80 million a year and create a net 2,000 new jobs for New Yorkers. It would also increase, from about 2,500 to about 18,000, the number of New York State outlets selling wine, providing a boost to New York's winemaking industry.

New York is the only major wine producing state that does not allow for the sale of wine in grocery stores. That helps explain New York's diminished leadership in the wine industry in recent years. California and Washington, the number one and two respective wine producing states, have six times as many retail outlets per person than New York.

Thirty-five other states have allowed wine sales in grocery stores - and one study has shown that states that permit wine sales in food stores also support a greater number of liquor stores per capita than states that limit wine sales to package stores.