new york seperates beer and wine!?

Hey preacher,

We hear you

Sincerely,
The choir

 

Wegmans has been fighting hard to be able to sell wine and beer together with no success. The wine/liquor stores are fighting tooth and nail saying it would ruin all of their "family" businesses if grocery stores were allowed to carry wine. It's a large legal money racket that no one in the NYS government has the balls to deal with.

 

If Wegmans couldn't do it, I'm not sure who could. It would take at least a Governor without the name Cuomo. Probably a whole new set of state senators.

From an article a couple years ago when the NYS producers cornered him that how the NYS fair had only macro beers and no products made in NYS.

Those were the two ground rules I was told,” Bennett said. “No talking about hydro fracking and no talking about wine in grocery stores.”

Cuomo denies that anyone was told that some topics were off limits.

“Anyone can mention anything they want,” Cuomo said. “But our position is well known.”

 

Wait a minute, you mean it's not like that everywhere? And hold on, you guys can make a right turn on red? And drive at 16? Hold the phone.

So I can have all those things, and more? And all I have to do is leave New York? Meh, I think I'll take my chances here.

 

Not sure of roots, but guessing it likely dates to when wine was considered "high alcohol" (at generally 10%+, excluding moscatos and the like), while beer was "low alcohol," with almost all beers averaging around 4-5.5% alcohol. That you can now buy an 18% 120 minute IPA at Whole Foods but can't buy an 11% bottle of sauvignon blanc to go with your dinner is ridiculous. That said, it's like a policy change that is VERY low on legislators' agendas (much like Ohio's 12% cap on beer percentage). Likely most legislators would have no problem changing the law (despite aggressive lobbying from the hard alcohol conglomerates, as wine sales likely drive up alcohol sales), but I just can't imagine most of them are seeing it as a pressing issue for what is always a tight legislation schedule.

 

Actually, they have voted on it twice that I know of and it failed to pass both times. The money is too strong. And Cuomo said he would veto it anyways if it reached his desk.

 

you can fit more beer in the store when there is no wine...personally im ok w/ that
bad enough w/ the damn soda and water

 

And food. Get your calories like a man.

 

More than once I have warned European tourists that the bottle of Chateau Diana they're taking to the grocery store checkout is not, in fact, wine, but "wine product." Happened just the other day. Three German women, apparently grandmother, mother, and daughter, all clapped their hands to their mouths in shock. They quickly set it down and asked where they could get some actual wine.

It's a stupid law, though I suppose it does make more room for the beer.

 

As a Pennsylvania resident permit me to point out to you New Yorkers: be thankful that your wine/liquor stores are not State Stores. Relatively speaking, you have it pretty good!!

Cheers!

 

As a former NY resident that now live in NJ, be thankful you can buy beer in grocery stores and gas stations.

Grumble, grumble, grumble ....

 

Yeah, at least we can easily buy six packs anywhere.

 

But that is a town/regional thing, right? I have purchased beer at a Wegmans in NJ (Bridgewater I think).

Cheers!

 

Having :
- grown up in VA (where you can only buy liquor at a state run ABC store, or at least used to)
- lived in DC for a long time (where you can't buy beer on Sundays, can't take a bottle out of a six pack, and can't buy beer after 10pm)
- and spent a lot of time in PA, where you mostly have to buy beer by the case at a distributor or from a bar

I've never once complained about how good we have it in NY

 

It never bothered me, but I don't buy much wine or liquor.

Getting good beer in NYC nowadays is getting pretty easy since even most corner bodegas carry some kind of craft beer.

 

No. Its the same in more than one other state. Dating back at least as far as Prohibition PA has had beer stores separate from those that sold Wine and Liquor.

To know the reason in NY you'll have to ask the NY legislature.

 

There is a "carve out" for the big chains - they can open one store next to their store which can sell wine/liquor. This is why TJ's has a TJ wine store next door in the Union Square location.

HOWEVER, because liquor licenses in New York are one to a customer, TJ can only have that one shop.