Wine sales in Grocery Stores?

Some more information for you:
A Kroger in Prospect, in a manner of two months, January to March 2008, has actually reduced the number of local wines they carry. What does this say about where Kroger's long term interests lie? They don't have the best interest of locally owned wineries in mind. They have Kroger's best interest in mind. That's understandable, sure but certainly no reason to change a law that's been in place and worked well for over 70 years, since the repeal of prohibition.

Some more information for you:
A Kroger in Prospect, in a manner of two months, January to March 2008, has actually reduced the number of local wines they carry. What does this say about where Kroger's long term interests lie? They don't have the best interest of locally owned wineries in mind. They have Kroger's best interest in mind. That's understandable, sure but certainly no reason to change a law that's been in place and worked well for over 70 years, since the repeal of prohibition.

You are 100% correct that Kroger only cares about itself. The place sucks. That said, I am not sure that our ridiculous liquor laws have worked well for over 70 years. What good is accomplished by fact that I cannot buy a bottle of wine on Sunday to take to dinner at a friend's house? It's beyond stupid.

[Robin Garr]

What good is accomplished by fact that I cannot buy a bottle of wine on Sunday to take to dinner at a friend's house? It's beyond stupid.

Errr ... you CAN. Louisville wine shops/liquor stores are open on Sunday now. Can't say about Northern Kentucky, but it's local option.

What good is accomplished by fact that I cannot buy a bottle of wine on Sunday to take to dinner at a friend's house? It's beyond stupid.

Errr ... you CAN. Louisville wine shops/liquor stores are open on Sunday now. Can't say about Northern Kentucky, but it's local option.

After 1 pm, right?

I just found out about this recent change in the law. That is very good news. These archaic liquor laws all need to go.

What good is accomplished by fact that I cannot buy a bottle of wine on Sunday to take to dinner at a friend's house? It's beyond stupid.

Errr ... you CAN. Louisville wine shops/liquor stores are open on Sunday now. Can't say about Northern Kentucky, but it's local option.

After 1 pm, right?

I just found out about this recent change in the law. That is very good news. These archaic liquor laws all need to go.

until 9pm.

[Robin Garr]

After 1 pm, right?

Correctamundo. Tells us something about the separation of church and state, doesn't it?

The Sunday-sales (after 1 p.m.) by local option passed one or two legistative sessions ago. Seems to me Louisville wine shops have been open on Sundays for at least two years. I've pretty much gotten used to it now - it's been real helpful on occasion when I was on deadline for a Monday wine column with no good ideas.

I just want to make clear that I don't leave my children outside the Whole Foods wine shop while I dash in. They come with me. I'd rather buy the entire store because of breakage than have anything happen to my children.

As for having a trunk...is that some kind of joke or something? I should just throw my kids in there rather than strapping them in the carseats? If you have kids, that kind of joke really doesn't seem funny anymore. I have to admit that I don't get it.

I just want to make clear that I don't leave my children outside the Whole Foods wine shop while I dash in. They come with me. I'd rather buy the entire store because of breakage than have anything happen to my children.

As for having a trunk...is that some kind of joke or something? I should just throw my kids in there rather than strapping them in the carseats? If you have kids, that kind of joke really doesn't seem funny anymore. I have to admit that I don't get it.

I don't think you needed to clarify that. Only a total moron would think you meant that you left your kids outside while you went into a store.

Your point about the convenience of wine sales in a grocery store was a very good one.

I don't have much to add, but I think Jenkins has no leg to stand on.

Allowing wine sales in groceries will *not* hurt the liquor stores and wine shops. A lot of the people who would get their wine in the groceries don't have the same connoisseur attitude toward wine anyway, and probably never would have thought of going to specialty stores to get the wine anyway. The same as for beer.

I agree with the idea expressed in this topic that allowing wine sales in groceries will expand the market for wine. And that's a good thing.

Allowing wine sales in groceries will *not* hurt the liquor stores and wine shops. A lot of the people who would get their wine in the groceries don't have the same connoisseur attitude toward wine anyway.

Have to agree with you there, Steve. I live in Indiana, where I can get wine at Kroger, Marsh, and even (gasp) WalMart. But in the three years I've lived here, I never have. Other than a few bottles from Costco and Trader Joe's, I've continued to shop at my favorate local wine shop. I'd rather discover something cool and interesting than buy a jug of Inglenook.

everyone is saying...oh i think it would be a great thing to have wine at the grocery...but I would never buy the kind of wine they would sell in the Grocery! Not ME!...then why do you even give a flying bleep? may sound crude but honestly..just what are you saying? ....and btw Eliza did you see my suggestion about using the drive thru at Old Town? After you get out of the grocery strap em in , cruise though the drive thru and head home.. easy enough... I dont think the local grocery would hurt every local store...But lets say Highlands Krogers and Highlands Value Market started carrying wines ( and i think it is unrealistic to believe those two would have only s****y wine).. I dont care what kind of imagination you have..the numbers on paper would show an impact on the local shops business, a significant impact... and if you apparently dont go to those places, but think it is silly that you cant pick up a bottle at the grocery...humor the rest of us and support the cause of the local shops, who have been faces and friends in our neighborhoods. If I could draw a cartoon describing this thread (and oh do I wish I were an artist sometimes)...It would be a character named Foodie..with an Old Town or Fleur Di Lis shirt tip toeing through a Kroger aisle..sheepishly looking around as he admired the bottle cost of a wine. Maybe he buys it and drives off in is car with the Keep Louisville Weird bumper sticker on his car...I hope you can see the humor.

Ben,
You have a PM.

Deb

Thanks Deb, looks interesting, I responded back..I will try to give you a buzz next week.

I dont care what kind of imagination you have..the numbers on paper would show an impact on the local shops business, a significant impact...

do you have those numbers? I'd love to see them because wine sales in grocery stores are allowed in lots of cities that have locally owned wine shops that do just fine.

and, I thought this was about saving the children in the grocery stores?

I’m new to the site but I’ve been reading many of the posts for months now. I think I’ve gained nearly 15 pounds reading everyone’s restaurant experiences. Thank you for that…I think. I’m sorry that my first post is not more directly related to restaurants and food, but this topic has gone on for a few days now and I’d like to share at part of my thinking on the issue.
Let me say immediately that I work for Liquor Barn and next week will mark my 36th year of being able to say that. I started as a part-time clerk, servicing their drive-though window five nights a week (alone—quel horreur!) in a tiny store. It’s taken all 36 years to grow our shops one step at a time under the laws of Kentucky. Frankly, it hurts a bit to hear blithe pleas to change these laws to give out-of-state grocers instant advantages in the name of “convenience”. That’s my sore spot, but I’ll try to keep as much of that to myself as possible.
That being said…this is a complex issue that the grocers are trying to dumb down. I resent that.
This is about local economics (locally owned businesses being compromised or bankrupted by out-of-state grocery concerns).
This is about a cynical attempt by the grocers to use the fledgling Kentucky wine industry as a Trojan horse to get what they want. Their alleged support of Kentucky wine was nonexistent last spring. It lags behind the efforts of local package stores now. It will likely fade to insignificance after they get what they want.
But mostly, it’s about public safety.
Grocers don’t want to hire adults: local package stores are required to by law. Grocers want to sell wine with a staff of teenagers as they currently do with beer. It’s wrong for beer. It’s much more wrong for wine. Grocers want open aisles of alcohol through which people of all ages may wander and shop. Local package stores must prohibit minors from being in their stores unless accompanied by their parents. Enforcement agents upon seeing a teenager go into a package store and coming out with a bag are virtually certain that a crime is been committed. Not true if that teenager goes into a grocery store.
This is not about convenience, it’s about public safety.
There is nothing here that needs to be fixed. Grocers can today sell all the wine they want in their separate wine shops (currently about 40 of them), staffed by and patronized by adults. If they fail in this legislative attempt, they lose nothing. If they succeed, Kentucky money, currently in Kentucky hands will flow out of state to Ohio (Kroger), Michigan (Meijers), Arkansas (Wal-Mart) and Washington State (Costco).
“Convenience” seems like a petty concern in the face of the these issues.