Democratic state lawmakers are optimistic that wine will soon line the shelves in some New York grocery stores, after making some changes to legislation that would upend a century-old law, to make it more palatable.
New York is one of 10 states that doesn’t allow grocery stores to sell wine. Lawmakers have been fighting New York State Liquor Authority’s rules for years, but have been blocked by a powerful liquor store lobby. Syracuse-area Democrat and Assembly Speaker Pro-Tempore Pam Hunter thinks there is momentum this year.
“Not because everybody else is doing it, we should do it. But times have changed,” Hunter said. “Consumers have changed. This law was based on something that was introduced during prohibition, and wanting to make sure whoever is affected is at the table. But obviously we've made the amendments and introduced it and hopefully we’ll be able to tackle this by the end of session."
The amendments include creating some limits on who can sell wine. For example, stores would need to sell 65% food, so big box stores couldn’t sell liquor. There would be a requirement that stores can’t sell liquor within 500 yards of an established liquor store. Another amendment would incentivize stores to sell New York-made wine, underlining another goal of the legislation: boosting the state’s wine industry.
“Some wineries may not want to be in grocery stores,” said Hunter. “That's fine. They may only want to just keep people at their vineyard and having tastings, and they may not have the capacity. But if we're not doing all we can to amplify their business and put them in a place that they could have growth if they want it, we should be doing that."
Hunter will preside over the upcoming session in Albany, says the bill, whether it’s standalone legislation or rolled into a bigger bill, has life until the legislative session ends later this month.
“Until I gavel out on the end of session, there's always an opportunity for any bill to get through,” she said.
