Wineries Join Fight Against Proposal

Wineries in the Finger Lakes region have joined the fight against Governor Paterson's proposal to sell wine in grocery stores. Seventy-six wineries across New York have signed on with a group called "The Coalition for the Last Store on Main Street." The group is opposed to the plan and is made up of small business owners and wineries.

However, some say the wineries are being pressured to say "no" to the proposal when they believe it could help business.

Selling wine in supermarkets could help the 100 wineries in the Finger Lakes region. The New York State Farm Bureau supports the proposal.

”It's going to create jobs, it's going to create more outlets for the wine owners and for the grape growers," said Mark James of the Farm Bureau out of the Finger Lakes Office.

James says many winery owners are for the proposal. However, only a handful have shown their support.

”From what I hear from winery owners, there's some pushback,” he said. “There are liquor store owners saying, ‘I won't carry your product if you support this’."

The owner of Fox Run Winery, Scott Osborn, says he was pressured by a liquor store to oppose the plan. In a phone interview, he says he doesn’t believe he is the only winery to be threatened.

Some local liquor store owners are in fact having customers sign petitions against the proposal.

However, Michael Mckeon of the Coalition for the Last Store on Main Street says “there has been no other instance since Osborn's. We wouldn’t tolerate that.”

But there are still some sour grapes over the proposal. Some winery owners who have signed on with the coalition fear supermarkets won't sell local brands.

Mckeon says, “They know there will be a handful of winners and a whole lot of losers. (Supermarkets) are in the business of making money. We expect they will sell brands that are cheap and popular."

James said, “It's a win for consumers to have more access, it's a win for the economy and more jobs and it's a win for winery owners to get their product out there."

A spokeswoman for Wegmans says they are committed to selling New York wines if the proposal passes. Jo Natale says many Wegmans customers support the plan as well. She says 40,000 customers filled out post-cards this past weekend, saying they wanted wine sold in grocery stores