New bill to sell wine in grocery stores sparks debate

Yahoo

19-04-2025

EAST SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — New York grocery stores may soon be offering a new item on their shelves — wine. The state Senate recently proposed a new bill that could soon allow for the sale of wine in grocery stores across New York.
Under current law, the sale of wine in grocery stores is prohibited.
The bill, introduced by State Senator George Borrello (R-57), will allow for wine to be sold in grocery stores, but there is one catch. The bill calls to allow only wines that have been produced in the state or made with ingredients produced or grown in New York.
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19 years of fermenting the perfect bottle right in house, Lakeland Winery owner, Andrew Watkins, has mastered 50 different wines in his small facility. However, Watkins says this new bill has him worried because he has 450 other competitors that could be fighting for a spot on the shelves.
'How many different wineries can a grocery store handle with the shelf space? Probably only the biggest wineries could be sold in those grocery stores, I definitely won't be allowed in,' Watkins said.
Already running a very thin margin, Watkins said he believes if this bill is passed, it could put small wineries and liquor stores like his underwater.
'They're not going to go to our winery to buy it. They are not going to go to the liquor store to buy it. They're going to buy it there because it is the most convenient way to purchase it,' Watkins said.
'Even I got Thousand Islands, you'll see a lot more of just those ones in grocery stores, compared to seeing a couple more of the oddball tinier wineries and it might even hurt them and we might end up having less wineries in New York State,' Noah Curtis, manager at Pascale's Liquor Square said.
With the possibility of a slim selection, some are arguing that this might not be as convenient as you think.
Maybe not what you're looking for, so you're still going to have to go to a second store either way and even that there, as of right now, there are more liquor stores in the area than there are grocery stores. So if it causes other liquor stores to close, you'll see even less convenience,' Curtis said.
The bill, as of Friday, is still in the State Senate committee. For the bill to pass, it would have to be passed by both the New York State Senate and the Assembly before heading to the Governor's desk to be signed into law.
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