Widen the wine sales

Today, we raise a glass to the free market and endorse a proposal to allow the sale of wine in New York grocery stores. The idea would bring convenience to consumers and ultimately expand the state's winemaking industry.

But it's a bittersweet toast. There's no getting around that opening wine sales to greater competition will hurt the roughly 2,700 individually owned liquor stores in New York - more than 500 of them here on Long Island with some offering a satisfying array of choices and informed salespeople. These stores still have exclusive rights to sell hard spirits but wine sales offer higher profits.

So, before the state opens the door to grocery stores, it must also modernize its liquor-store statutes. Allow liquor stores to sell beer, mixers, cheese and other complementary products. Let them extend their hours and expand to more than one outlet. Fair is fair.

More than two-thirds of states allow wine sales in food stores, and major grocers have been lobbying for decades to change the law in New York. They got their chance this year, when Gov. David A. Paterson announced a $14-billion budget deficit. Clever grocery-store lobbyists proposed a wine sales franchise fee that would add $105 million to state coffers this year, if the proposal passes, and about $3 million every year afterward. Paterson added the idea to his budget.

The governor's office invited liquor store owners to add their wish list to the legislation, but so far, they are holding back. They see it as a death warrant for too many and cite a 2006 study conducted when Massachusetts was considering wine sales in food stores. It predicted that 38 percent of liquor stores would close.

But most businesses that are threatened by economic changes don't seek legal immunity from competition. Liquor-store owners want to protect a status quo that no one else enjoys in this increasingly global economy.

In Massachusetts, voters rejected the measure. The concern there seems to have been public safety. As in New York, the proposal would have allowed wine sales anywhere that beer is sold - convenience stores, gas stations, delis. Opponents argue that Quickie Mart clerks won't be as careful about selling to minors. Kids are less comfortable entering liquor stores, it's true. And liquor-store employees have more to lose if they risk their license on a questionable sale. Law enforcement organizations have raised these questions, along with concern about a potential increase in drunken driving.

These arguments must be discussed seriously. But they ignore that the would-be future wine sellers are already handling beer. They have precautions in place, such as requirements that underage grocery-store clerks call an adult to process the beer sale. And, since when are teens so anxious to get their hands on a fine chardonnay? Adding wine alongside a six-pack is not likely to increase the temptation.

The issue has divided New York's community of winemakers. Officially, more than two dozen have signed on in support of the liquor stores, compared with just four for the other side. The pressure to support the liquor stores is enormous, especially on Long Island, where the East End's 40-odd growers have spent years developing close ties with individual owners who carry and promote local wines.

But privately, a few Long Island growers say they would welcome the new revenue that grocery store sales could bring. Washington, a state that loosened its wine-sales law in 1970, has seen its industry more than triple. In fact, it has surpassed New York to take the No. 2 spot behind California the biggest wine-producing state. It would be foolish to pass up this opportunity for economic growth.

Some winemakers worry that food stores will stock only the best-known brands. Grocers such as King Kullen, Stop & Shop, Gristede's and Wegmans have signed a letter of commitment to carry New York wines. They can't make a legal promise without risking an antitrust violation, but it appears to be a good-faith vow, and the grocers' shelves bear watching to hold them to it.

Albany lawmakers should grasp this cup to their lips for the benefit of the state's wine industry and consumers - while serving liquor stores generously too.