Proposal to sell wine in supermarkets (New York, Patterson: sales, buying, roofing)

[cheese9988]

Patterson has a proposal to sell wine in supermarkets. Great for consumers. However the liquor stores (obviously) and some wineries think it could hurt thier business because of the abundance of other cheap wine from outside NY state.

What do you guys think?

Wineries Join Fight Against Proposal

[juppiter]

Definitely for this. It'll help Wegmans and Price Chopper a lot, and they are two of the biggest employers that are based upstate.

[LIOC]

I see why mom and pop liquor stores are against it, but for the consumer there is no down side.

[Peter B]

It's a great idea. When we moved here to Michigan from Long Island, I thought it was great that we're able to buy groceries and our wine & liquor in one stop. I've seen some snobs from LI on the news saying, "ughh, I'd NEVER buy wine in a supermarket". Nauseating. It'll obviously harm the liquor store owners but they need to come to grips with the fact that it will happen evenutally. Over 30 states already allow wine & liquor purchases in supermarkets. I would not open up a liquor on LI nowadays. Once the consumers from NY gets a taste of the concept, they'll wonder what took so long. If it illiminates another stop, it's all good for the consumer.

[cheese9988]

Good points. If the wineries can market right, they could sell alot more wine through Tops or Wegmans. Tops and Wegmans employ more than the wineries anyway. I think Wegmans is one of the largest supermarket chains in the nation.

[VA Yankee]

We sell Wine & Beer in the supermarkets in Virginia. It's those darn state run ABC stores that we have to get everthing else.

[garmin239]

My only beef is the quality of service. I have been in states that sell wine in supermarkets and its impossible to find something if you are not a wine expert. The people working the stores know very little about the products.
I can go into a liquor store with no knowledge and have the person working help me make an informed decision. Can't do that in a supermarket.
Besides, many supermarkets have liquor stores in the general area, much of the time in the same plaza. Its really not that hard to bounce from store to store.

[boomvang]

Originally Posted by garmin239

My only beef is the quality of service. I have been in states that sell wine in supermarkets and its impossible to find something if you are not a wine expert. The people working the stores know very little about the products.
I can go into a liquor store with no knowledge and have the person working help me make an informed decision. Can't do that in a supermarket.
Besides, many supermarkets have liquor stores in the general area, much of the time in the same plaza. Its really not that hard to bounce from store to store.

Wait until Wegmans gets hold of wine sales. They don't do anything half-way, and I would anticipate they already have an educational marketing plan, as well as a dedicated sommelier to help, at least in the larger stores.

[Jeromeville]

I don't see where there's a downside for the consumer either.

And most of the arguments I'm hearing from the mom and pop stores seem specious; such as, "There will be more underage sales of wine." Does Wegmans get busted a lot for selling beer to underage people?! They proof everyone who looks under 30. Grocery stores have pretty strict policies for proofing now. Contrast this to some of the local liquor stores in my area. My local store got shut down because the guy running it got busted several times for selling to minors.

When you walk into a local liquor store, what do you see? Cases of Beringer, Yellow Tail and Kendall-Jackson. If you want anything special, or different, or from New York, you have to walk into the back and search. They NEVER promote New York wines. I fully expect that Wegmans will do so.

I think we are concentrating on what Wegmans will do, though - so to play devil's advocate, imagine what buying wine would be like in P&C, Tops or Hannaford's. Probably not a hugely great experience.

[Ellie C.]

My local liquor store is asking people to sign a petition. Unfortunately, this little shop doesn't have a very good selection of wines, and I was asked right after they didn't have a remotely decent bottle of champagne to sell. They know nothing about what they're selling.

I personally can't wait for this to pass. The little liquor store is afraid they'll go out of business, but I don't see it. I don't think any serious wine drinkers are shopping there, and if I can avoid the extra stop and parking hassle, that's fine with me.

I think it will only help the wineries. Wegmans has the ability to give the smaller local wineries a lot more exposure. The bigger liquor stores will be fine because if I want to stock up, it's usually more than just wine I need, so I'll still go there. It's the Mom and Pop places that'll get hurt if it passes, I think.