Wine in grocery store bill likely dead for 2011

A House subcommittee has probably killed any chance that legislation allowing grocery stores to sell wine will pass the General Assembly this year, defeating the issue for the fourth straight year.

The nine-lawmaker group rejected an amendment that would have put the question of whether grocery stores can sell wine to local voters and deferred all other consideration of wine-in-grocery stores until the summer of 2012.

The move likely spells the end of wine-in-grocery stores legislation until at least next January, when a new bill can be filed.