"Shouldn’t there be a unified community of New York wine industry professionals, from every part of the trade?"
At a recent industry conference, we had an “aha!” moment:
“Shouldn’t there be a unified community of New York wine industry professionals, from every part of the trade?”
Wineries were doing their thing in one corner, importers and distributors in another, and retailers in yet another.
We realized a simple truth: we share common visions. We need to collaborate to foster the continued growth and reach of NY wine. So, we set goals, until we got the urgent call to act.
The news hit that corporate lobbyists were trying to push for the sale of wine in grocery stores and big box stores. Shortly thereafter, this and other legislation was pending to allow grocery stores and other chains to fill their shelves with wine in NY.
Our mission now: use our collective strengths and experiences to act as a steward of New York’s cherished FLX wine region, allowing the NY wine industry to continue to thrive and flourish as a farm-to-table winemaking zone, with a focus on independence, quality, farming, and sustainability, and free from corporate greed and interference.
The corporations want you to think wine in grocery and big box is good for New York. What many don’t realize is that there is a real danger in consolidating so much wine buying power to corporate chains: a business model that prioritizes profit over people, limited choice over consumer wants, big business over independent purveyors, and corporate wine over local wine.
What does this alliance hope to accomplish?
Defending our region from corporate destruction is the hurdle to overcome now. We need to keep wine out of corporate controlled chains, many out of state, in order to preserve the delicate financial and cultural ecosystems of NY’s winemaking zones.
Now, groups of wineries, stores, and distributors have organized to tell our story, educating our lawmakers about the perils of wine in grocery stores. We want to ensure that our voices are heard, and that our elected officials know the NY wine industry at large does not support wine in grocery stores.
Our alliance is growing. Our message resonates with people who understand the immediate threat to small businesses, local growers, and our region’s cherished wineries.
We hope you support our cause. Please explore our website, sign up for our newsletter, and sign our petition.