Wine Kiosks Planned for Pa. Supermarkets

Pennsylvania Wine Kiosks

 Later this year, you can expect to see wine kiosks in 100 supermarkets across the state of Pennsylvania. They can hold up to 500 bottles of wine. They will be run by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, which hopes it will make it more convenient for people to buy wine in the Keystone State.

Only one store in Mercer County is set to get a machine -- the Grove City County Market. 

"Anything we can do to make an experience more convenient to our customers, and offer them another choice," said Dave Knopp, the store's director. "We would like to do that for our customers. So when this opportunity came, we took it for that reason."

Currently residents can only buy wine in state run stores in Pa.  Liquor Control Board officials said this is similar to placing one of those inside of a supermarket. The sale will go through an office in Harrisburg.

The machines will be connected by video to the Liquor Control Board office so an agent can confirm that the person buying the wine is the same as that listed on their ID. Customers will also have to breathe toward a sensor on the kiosk to confirm their blood alcohol level is less than 0.05.

The kiosks might be more convenient, but will people be receptive?  Knopp thinks so.
 
"Just like the Red Box DVDs you rent out of a machine," he said. "We put that in our store a few years ago, and it immediately took off. People are very comfortable nowadays with using those kind of things. And they are so easy to use."

The state will test the kiosks over the next couple of months. If that goes well they'll make their way to stores in May or June.