Read & React

A place to share your thoughts, criticisms and comments.

Wine sales in the grocery stores?


Should grocery stores be allowed to sell wine?

Read Fred LeBrun’s column and share your opinion here. Business reporter Chris Churchill is interviewing wine store proprietors for a story on Thursday.

Categories: General
Michael Huber

81 Responses

  1. Safety Lady says:

    Ooo, Ralph – I like your idea. Less government regulation and interferenec. I would gladly pay an extra 1/2% to not have to worry about what specialty tax I’ll pay where, and on what. Schenectady County used to be a 1/2% higher, and now it’s lower again. I don’t think people had that much of an issue with it.

  2. Safety Lady says:

    As for selling in stores, of course the market is convenient. But most markets are located in the same strip mall as the mom and pop shop, and I personally enjoy shopping at the wine and liquor store. I get more personalized help (when was the last time someone was stationed in the beer aisle of price chopper to assist with your lager selection?) at the specialty store, and they are likely to carry something I like. The PC’s and Hannafords in New England have a very small selection of wines, and rarely something I’d want to buy. If you want a $3.99 wine, than so be it. So I guess I’m against specialty taxes and against supermarket wine sales. Sorry :(

  3. don says:

    I think its a bad idea to let the grocery stores sell wine. What happens if all the liquor stores go out of business where would we buy actual liquor? like vodka whisky, and rum…I think it will harm more things than it will help.SAY NO…

  4. stateworker_slug says:

    The ONLY reason wine and liquor is not sold in grocery stores is because the liquor store lobby (yes, there IS a liquor store lobby in Albany) has been successful in preserving that turf over the years through its “generosity” to State legislators (you know what that means). Anyone who travels outside of New York State and been in grocery stores knows how ridiculous this is, but who said the State Legislature was prone to common sense and serving the public interest, as opposed to serving special interests?

  5. J Jones says:

    I don’t think the stores are going to offer only $3.99 wine and I can’t say there are too many liquor stores that have gone out of their way to accommodate my wishes. I also know that stores that do sell wines offer a wide variety. I recall buying a wonderful bottle of Greg Norman wine in a store. The more liquor stores lobby to resist the more likely I will be to never buy from them again!

  6. Duke says:

    Praise Jesus and pass the Chardonnay!

  7. JO says:

    For some families, a bottle of Wine is a key part of any meal. Just like a good loaf of Italian or Rye bread is. Should I be forced to go to a speciality Bakery to buy it just to keep them in business? Of course not. This is not unprecedented as the law exists in other states, including my second home, South Carolina. And let me tell you, its great to have that option. And guess what? There are still Liquor stores doing a great business there, selling hard liquor and mid to high end Wine that would not be attractive to stock in a supermarket due to lack of sales. The detractors want you to believe that it will result in a mass extinction of Liquor stores, when in fact, that is a fantasy.

  8. concerned citizen says:

    I agree with a couple of the other comments. Put just NY wines in grocery stores would keep everyone happy and liquor and wine shops open. NYS would get their tax $, people looking for convenience instead of supporting a family owned business and NY wineries would enjoy sales growth. WIN WIN FOR ALL!!!!!!!!!!!

  9. Frank says:

    This is America. Free enterprise. Where were all these complaints when the Home Depots and Lowes came in and wiped out the Mom and Pop hardware stores. I personally enjoy the price savings. I still shop at a local hardware store for quick purchases or some odd ball stuff. Yes alot of people lost their business but they were unable to compete price wise. I lived in a state(Virginia)that sold wine in the grocery store and they sold low priced wine not high end wines. You still had to go to a wine outlet to get the higher (specialty) wines. I work for a large manufacturer and we are bound by tariffs, ethics and anti trust laws. We would love to be able to set our price so that we could set the market but that is not good for the consumer.

  10. Mike says:

    I think it is a bad idea. Often the liquor store is the only viable business in a neighborhood. Why do we want to put someone out of business who is able to make a living selling wine and liquor? I think we could potentially end up losing more money than is made on this proposal. Sure it helps the supermarket’s bottom line but isn’t it enough that they are selling the basic essentials such as food? Once we have put all the liquor stores out of business where does the tax revenue come from that the liquor store and the distributor provided? How about the property tax on what may become a vacant lot?
    What about the fact that many liquor stores also run a lottery machine? Are we going to have the supermarket do that too?

  11. Remy says:

    Can’t Wait to see the clerks at Walmart, Stewarts and Price Chopper try to help me with my wine selections.

  12. Frank says:

    We are not talking about liquor just wine. The liquor stores will still be needed to sell liquor. Also they can still sell wine they will just have competition.

  13. Mike says:

    It is certainly also not unprecedented that a business or services turf is protected. How about Union workers, state workers, doctors, dentists, schools, etc? The public schools have a monopoly on education that they protect and forced funding as well. I wonder if all these so called free market advocates would feel that it is equally justified if their protected segment of the economy suddenly became fair game for anyone to provide.

  14. jakester says:

    If they have to abide by the same rules as liquor store it seems okay. I do think it will hurt liquor stores a bit though, just due to sheer convenience.

  15. Jeff says:

    Mike – my “protected segment of the economy” is … myself. Furthermore my “protected segment of the economy” is ALWAYS “fair game for anyone to provide”. There are millions of people out there with the same skills as myself. What makes me any more entitled to provide those skills than someone else? The answer: I can do it better than them.

    The world is merit-based, whether you like it or not. Why should we protect an arbitrary group of people out of pity?

    I’ll say it again: if the wine stores are scared of competition, they’re going to have to figure out why that is, and step up their game or get out of the stadium.

  16. Mike says:

    Jeff, the bottom line is the liquor stores have abided by the rules all these years of not being allowed to have more than one location, not being open past 9 and having to close one day a week. Now you simply want to pull the rug out from under them and allow all the supermarkets who already have multiple locations to sell wine wherever and whenever. So of course they will immediately be able to outbuy the one guy running a liquor store making it impossible for him to compete on price. We are essentially telling Price Chopper and Hannaford that they automatically become the biggest dealers in the state because after all this time we are going to change the rules for them.

  17. Taxed to death says:

    Wonderful idea, Paterson. Put all the liquor stores out of business so you can collect a one time license fee from places like Price Chopper and Hanaford. I hope you have figured out whether the reduction in tax revenue from the liqor stores and the unemployment benefits that will need to be paid to their employees will be less than what you collect in new fees from the supermarkets.

  18. cp retiree says:

    I say bring it on. And I don’t think such a move would threaten the survival of liquor stores, at all.

    For the first week or two it would be a novelty. But I seriously doubt that grocery stores would stock more than large quantities of the basics — items that currently take up maybe a corner of a liquor store.

    Customers will quickly realize that it will require a trip to a liquor store for their favorite specialty wine — that particular brand, bottled in a certain year, from a particular part of the world. In a very short time, the grocery store stock will be gathering dust, and will serve merely as an “emergency stand-by” supply.

    Kind of like the food aisles in CVS Pharmacy. I doubt that many people do their weekly grocery shopping there; but hey, in a pinch …

    Let’s say you’re making spaghetti for dinner; you’re short one jar of Prego, and you run to CVS. Rats. All they have is Ragu — but it’ll work.

    And I don’t think Price Chopper is any worse off because of the competition.

  19. KKT says:

    I live out of state and we have wine for sale in the grocery store. It’s one less stop during food shopping, and most of the time, the grocery stores have really good sales. Not much selection, but if you like cheap wine, the grocery store route is the way to go.

  20. The Original Mike says:

    Just to clarify–the guy who stole the name I’ve been using for 3 years does not necessarily reflect my opinions.

    Florida has wine in their Winn-Dixies. Lots of it. And it can be found cheap. New Hampshire doesn’t tax wine and they have people pouring over the border to take advantage of the price breaks.

    Haven’t the political, tax the air imbeciles downtown learned anything from the Wall Street and corporate meltdowns that short term short-sighted greed causes long-term implosion?

  21. The Original Mike says:

    Correction–New Hampshire doesn’t tax ANY alcoholic beverages.

  22. Falconnier says:

    #7 – Concerned Taxpayer:

    Trader Joe’s doesn’t have a presence in the Capital District not because of “lobbying”, but because the area doesn’t meet their requirements for a franchise. And Wegman’s isn’t here because of an agreement between them, Golub Corp. and Hannaford Bros. to carve up the state and stay out of each other’s territory. So don’t blame lobbyists, blame Wegman’s.

    As for the issue at hand, I agree that it’s an idea that is long overdue. California allows not only wine, but liquor sales at grocery stores, and their liquor stores don’t appear to suffer. As previous posters have stated, the grocery stores are not going to stock high-end or specialty items; they’re going to stick with stuff that’s readily affordable. Can you really visualize the Price Chopper on Delaware Ave stocking Moet-Chandon or Chateau Neuf-du-Pape?

  23. Linda M says:

    In the interim, if liquor store personnel are concerned, maybe they could diversify. I’d have to mull this over for some time, but perhaps quality gifts or even decent special occasion cakes might be a couple good ideas. People could pick up liquor and also pick up something associated with a party or gathering. That’s my 2 cents.

  24. elmer says:

    I agree that if the change is made the rules under which liquor stores operate need to be relaxed. However, the liquor store lobby, you will recall, fought against Sunday opening. They will fight against multiple stores; they will fight against being open after 9. Why? Because they are a protected buggy whip industry.

    No one like to see anyone lose a job, or a business. But if your business depends for its existence on an artificial set of rules, don’t cry “unfair” when the rules are made a little less artificial.

  25. Jay says:

    Of the 2400 independent retailers in NY, this law will only impact those who do not do a good job operating their business. Every ‘smart’ retailer out there will make adjustments to their wine selections to offer more diversity, shift a larger portion of their inventory to liquor, and ultimately survive if not flourish under the new laws. The only retailers that will suffer are the ones that have survived through the current system due to lack of competition that has allowed them to run poorly operated outlets with dusty shelves, high prices, and a level of service you would expect from a corner store.

    I say, get better or get out. We (consumers) are tired of having to shop at your dirty stores, where you care more about your lottery machines than your wine selection or service. On the contrary, we will still continue to shop at the ‘smart’ retail locations that offer personalized service, unique selections, fair prices, while maintaining an inviting atmosphere – because that’s what we want and deserve.

    This isn’t a short term fix either. The state desparately needs money. They’ll get the $105 million in the short term (not a small sum), but they will also reap increased revenue year after year when our per capita consumption finally rivals that of states with wine in grocery. Multiply that increase by the additional sales tax increase on wine that Patterson is proposing, along with the 20% conservative increase in sales for NY state wineries and we have a long term proposition to increase revenue for the state, local businesses (NY st wineries), while ultimately providing savings for the consumer.

    Doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me.

  26. Concerned Citizen says:

    As a person who enjoys wine, I’d like to be able to say I would enjoy the convenience of being able to pick up a good bottle of merlot or cabernet while I’m doing my grocery shopping.

    However, I don’t feel this will be the case.

    I foresee Price Chopper, Hannaford, Wal-Mart, and any other grocery store then begin to sell wine will end up having the cheapest wine selections they can get their hands on, and they will sell these bottles at rock-bottom prices. Just what do you think the quality of this wine will be? It will be like the difference in drinking Busch or Sam Adams. Sure, the grocery stores may carry a few of the better vintners wines, but they will be at a premium, just like it is when you walk into PC to buy that 12 pack of Sammy. And somehow, I don’t see the grocers carrying my favorite vintners like Louis Jadot or Ecco Domani.. Grocers will end up selling mass-market vintners like Turning Leaf or Yellow Tail.

    In the long run, liquor stores will still end up getting my wine business because of their selection and pricing. Just like I still go to the beverage center to get my Sammy, because it’s cheaper, and of course, if I want a change, always a good selection.

  27. JelloBiafra says:

    I have to agree with #56 I am not a big wine drinker but I do think of myself a beer connoisseur. I still go to beverage centers to pick up beer when possible since the selection and quality is much better. Sure if I am on my way to a friends house and need to pick some beer up I stop at the corner store or gas station. A grocery store isnt going to carry something like Dogfishhead or Anchor although occasionally you will find it. If I want a good beer I will go to the beverage center. Let the people who dont know any better buy their beer flavored water at price chopper. Let wine be sold in the grocery store because if I was a good bottle I will still go to the specialty store.

    And remember everyone:
    “A shark on whiskey is mighty risky, but a shark on beer is a beer engineer”

  28. JelloBiafra says:

    the last part of my previous post should be ” Let Wine be sold in the grocery store because if I want a good bottle I will still go to the specialty store. I dont want the grammer police get all worked up.

  29. Jerndesza says:

    Just like the franchise I own, every budget administrator strapped for cash looks at everyone else’s pocket to sustain it’s lavish lifestyle that it refuses to forego. Look at the recent private jet-setting CEO’s and Wall Street exec’s.

    LEAVE THE LIQUOR LAWS ALONE. Let the powers that be find alternate means to generate revenue or else just let Walmart sell everything we need and shut the rest of the world down.

  30. Linda M says:

    My 2 cents’ worth….so I guess this makes it 4 cents’ worth…

    Price matching…maybe some businesses could use this tool.

    Nothing could make me shop in a store where I’m treated like dirt.