Battle over wine sales in groceries far from over

  In boxing, it would be an upset. Heavyweights like Wegmans Food Markets Inc., backed by Gov. David Paterson, wanted to allow wine sales in the state's grocery stores.

But the fact that New York's $132 billion budget passed last week contains no such language is likely only round one instead of a TKO on the issue.

"I'm positive it will come up again," said New York State Liquor Store Association President Stefan Kalogridis, owner of Covin Wine Merchants in Albany.

Paterson's proposed budget had estimated that allowing wine sales in grocery stores would add $105 million to state coffers. Gates-based grocery chain Wegmans Food Markets Inc. spearheaded a campaign to get public support, bankrolling a series of television ads as well as having a petition drive in its New York stores.

"We will continue our efforts," said Jo Natale, director of media relations for Wegmans. "We owe it to our customers, 70 percent of whom want this. We owe it to our employees because it would create new growth opportunities. And we owe it to the New York wine industry because they, too, would benefit."

The state's liquor stores fought back with petitions of their own and heavy lobbying.

"We're going to fight viciously every single time," said Marc Ressler, vice president of the state Liquor Store Association and owner of Midnight Liquors in Tonawanda, Erie County. "The stores are our bread and butter."

State law currently allows wine sales only in liquor stores, which in turn are prohibited from selling merchandise much beyond that.

"Our business model was set up to sell liquor and wine — 95 percent of our stores aren't able to bring in foods and other items," Kalogridis said. "We don't have the room."