There’s no shortage of logical reasons for passing a state law that would allow grocery stores to sell wine.
The state’s grape growers and wineries would surely benefit from an expansion in their customer base. Grocery stores would be able to sell a beverage for which there is clear demand. And consumers would have the convenience of buying two products that have a symbiotic relationship — food and wine — in the same location.
Those are all reasons why the overwhelming majority of states in this country have already allowed grocery store wine sales. New York is one of just 10 states still clinging to the archaic notion that a grocery store cannot be a place where wine is sold.
A big reason New York has not joined the other 40 states, despite its investments in the wine industry on the agricultural side, is the influence of the industry that benefits directly from the law currently on the books. The liquor store lobby has long held major sway over legislators on this issue, and with a new bill under consideration in Albany, they are back at it trying to safeguard their legal shield against competition.
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Liquor stores’ primary argument is simple: allowing sales by grocery stores will drive them out of business. But that scare tactic just doesn’t hold up any longer.
First, the version of the bill introduced this year in Albany shuts out big-box retailers like Walmart, Target and pharmacy chains, limiting the market expansion to full-service grocery stores.
Second, liquor stores would maintain their monopolistic hold on liquor sales, products that clearly make up a large portion of their sales.
And liquor stories competing with grocery stories would still have two crucial advantages: 1. They can offer a much larger variety of wines than a grocery store; 2. They can provide a higher level customer service in terms of wine expertise. But both of these advantages require a dedicated effort that liquor stores currently have little incentive to make.
It’s time to join most of the rest of the United States in moving this bill forward, for the good of consumers and the state’s wine industry.
The Citizen Editorial board includes executive editor Jeremy Boyer and managing editor Mike Dowd