Legislator, backers say they'll revive wine sales bill

With a proposal to allow wine sales in grocery and other stores officially shelved, backers and at least one state legislator say they stand ready to revive it through a compromise bill before the summer.

But it's unclear whether the compromise - which would allow grocery wine sales in exchange for letting liquor stores operate more outlets and carry more offerings, including food and beer - stands a chance.

It faces opposition from liquor stores and some Long Island wineries. Gov. David A. Paterson's office, which initially offered the idea as a way to raise money, yesterday said, "The issue is off the table for now."

But state Assemb. Marc Alessi (D-Wading River) said he will call for hearings on the compromise this legislative session.

Liquor stores have spurned the compromise offers, arguing that allowing wine sales in grocery stores, gas stations and bodegas, as proposed in Paterson's budget, would put them out of business. Alessi's plan would also limit wine selections in grocery stores to winemakers who produce fewer than 250,000 gallons of wine a year, which would limit sales to the state's primarily smaller farm wineries. More than 40 wineries are in Alessi's East-End district.

The New York Farm Bureau, which includes upstate grape growers who backed Paterson's proposal, said yesterday it was prepared to work with Alessi. Julie Suarez, the bureau's legislative director, said progress of the proposal this year was further than her group had seen in 30 years of attempting to pass it. But, she noted, "the liquor lobby has a lot of power in Albany."

Liquor stores opposed the compromise and remain committed to defeat any similar proposals, a spokesman said.

"There's no compromise with big-box stores that want to close small businesses," said Michael McKeon, a spokesman for the Last Store on Main Street Coalition, made up primarily of liquor stores.

Jennifer Carlson, a consultant to grocery chains that pushed for Paterson's proposal, said given budget shortfalls, "We think legislators are going to be coming back to find more money," which the original proposal addressed by raising $160 million in new licensing fees.

Ken Vaglio, general manager of Vineyard 48, a Cutchogue winery that opposed Paterson's proposal, cast doubt on the proposal's revival. "I think it's down the drain," he said. The current system "has been like this since Prohibition. I personally think it's OK the way it is."