Grocers ask shoppers to support wine sales

Until David Marcus moved to Nashville, he had never lived in a city where he couldn't buy wine in the grocery store.

Marcus and his wife frequently share a glass of wine in the evening. It is part of their routine to wind down and discuss the day. And, the ability to pick up a bottle of vino at the neighborhood grocery store would be a major convenience, he said.

"To me it seems like a very natural thing," Marcus said. "It's part of people's habits."

Marcus is not alone in his sentiments. Now, scores of people are weighing in on the matter. It isn't going away.

Tennessee allows wine to be sold only in liquor stores. The General Assembly is considering a bill that would allow wine to be sold in supermarkets. Previous attempts to change the law have been corked by liquor lobbyists.

On Tuesday, legislators on the House local government committee will hear testimony from proponents on both sides of the issue. The meeting begins at noon in hearing room 16 at Legislative Plaza.

The Wine and Spirits Retailers Association – group that represents the interests of about 550 liquor retailers around the state - says the law will take money from Tennessee residents who own liquor stores and put it in the coffers of big out-of-state corporations, put some liquor stores out of business and eliminate an unknown number of jobs.

“Unfortunately, we little retailers are just a bunch of mom and pops. We are the ones that are going to suffer the greatest consequences if that law passes,” said Chip Christianson, the president of the Tennessee Wine & Spirits Retailers Association.

The association has a paid lobbyist and a part-time executive director.

Now the state's grocers are turning to the public for support. A grass-roots effort of sorts called the Red, White and Food campaign has been developed through the Tennessee Grocers and Convenience Store Association.

Six-foot-tall cardboard cutouts of wine bottles have been set up at more than 100 Middle Tennessee grocery stores. The displays have a plastic pocket with cards for supporters of wine sales at grocery stores to fill in and send back to the grocers association.

Since the drive began, 6,000 signatures have been added to the cause, said Jarron Springer, president of the grocers group. To date, there are 11,000 supporting the measure, he added.

"It's been amazing how consumers have shown support for this issue," Springer said. "This has always been a consumer-driven issue for us and by placing these in the store and allowing consumers the choice to fill out the cards and send back — they're responding."

The Wine and Sprits Retails Association has also been gathering support for limiting sales to liquor stores.

Sometime in mid February, the organization posted a petition on it’s Web site and an unknown number of retailers made petition materials available in their stores, said Christianson. All told, the association has gathered 9,000 signatures from people who support limiting wine and liquor sales to Tennessee’s liquor stores.

Thirty-three states allow wine sales in grocery stores, Springer said.

Like politics itself, the debate has created some strange bedfellows.

Both the Tennessee Baptist Convention and the Wine and Spirits Retailers Association oppose changing the law.

The Baptist Convention, which disapproves of any alcohol consumption, fears the increased accessibility to alcohol that the measure would bring.

The Wine and Spirits Retailers Association — which lobbies for liquor store owners — says wine sales in grocery stores would result in more underage drinking. Grocery stores, big box stores and drug stores simply don’t have the experience to identify increasingly sophisticated fake identification, Christianson said.

The association also says that some of the 3,000 jobs inside the state’s liquor stores will disappear and that some store operators may be put out of business. And, with large chains selling alcohol and fewer liquor stores in business wine connoisseurs will find that the selection available in Tennessee will narrow to a few popular varieties and brands, said Christianson.

“No state has voted in wine in grocery stores for 23 years. So, there are a lot of states that have thought about this, contemplated it and decided not to do it,” said Christianson. “There are many compelling reasons not to have wine in grocery stores. The only real reason that people give to have wine in grocery stores is convenience.”

Linda Wright, shopping Thursday at the Kroger in Green Hills, opposes the sale of wine in stores.

Wright doesn't buy beer or wine, and would rather those who do continue going to liquor stores. She also worries about alcohol abuse. The increased availability would be too much of a temptation, she said.

"Everybody has to have a grocery (store), not everyone needs alcohol," she said.

Some say the convenience factor is enough of a reason and like the idea of being able to pick out a bottle of wine to match what they're buying for dinner.

Ron Chapman and his wife, Mary Alice, both filled out the grocer group cards at the Harris Teeter on 21st Avenue South. Wine goes with food, Chapman said.

But like others, Chapman said they would be surprised if the legislature changes the law.

"I think the liquor lobby has it all sewed up," Chapman said.