Southampton - Since the recession really got rolling, I have seen a dramatic impact on the wine industry. The industry continues to expand it's reach and market size but that increase has been at the expense of higher priced wines that have languished at many levels of the industry - languished on wine lists on store shelves, in distributors warehouses and at the wineries themselves. But the reality is that the wine industry has grown into a very large and important industry with about $30 billion in annual revenues in this country and about $151 billion worldwide.

New York contributes substantially to the U.S. economy, but New York's wine revenues have tightened up recently and I'd like to see that change. I feel that laws (both local and national) are conspiring against New York having its share of wine revenues, and yes more wine revenues means more taxes collected to run the state. As a wine journalist, I have observed the wine industry for almost a decade, but as a wine professional I have seen the workings of the industry from positions held in restaurants, stores and distributors for more than two decades. What I have witnessed since 2005 is the migration of wine sales to other states that enjoy different laws concerning pricing and distribution As a Sommelier and Wine Director I have also noted many more people bringing their own wines to restaurants and paying the corkage fee, with my Sommelier or Wine Director hat on this is an issue, and means less revenues for the restaurant and their staffs, this is also a loss of tax revenue for the state. Corkage fees at restaurants are in the $30 range, give or take, and during the height of the recession, some restaurants waived the corkage fee. While I agree and partake in the corkage concept, there must be a balance that allows the whole system to thrive - meaning bring a bottle, buy a bottle and even more importantly, follow some etiquette rules. Always call the restaurant to check on the policy, always bring a wine that is special, and never bring a bottle that the restaurant has on their list.

New York has always been the place with the most diverse selection of wines available to the consumers.

The size of the U.S. Wine Economy is in the $30 billion range and growing, New York State has about $2 billion of that or about seven percent of the total. Of that $2 billion, about $4 million is revenue from wine produced in New York. As an insider in the wine industry, I understand that New York State needs to make some adjustments to the way the wine industry is overseen in order to keep from loosing more business to other states. What I mean by that is how do we create a balance in the wine industry that keeps as much wine revenue in the state and brings more in? One might automatically think I am talking about New York produced wines, while supporting that is very important, I am actually talking about the whole industry. New York has always been the place with the most diverse selection of wines available to the consumers. What has changed since 2005 is more and more of our wine dollars are being spent at wine stores in other states due to lower prices, so some of those wines brought to New York restaurants by diners weren't even bought in New York stores. This is not about New York Wine stores not being competitive, rather the laws concerning volume purchases are very strict and certainly more strict than New Jersey and other states. Also our sales of New York wine both in the state and out of it could certainly benefit by a few changes in both the federal laws about interstate shipping and our own laws concerning Grocery Store sales. Both of these are very controversial issues, but with smart people giving smart thoughts to this I think both issues can be worked to the advantage of the consumer, the state and those in the wine business. It is far past time that our country began to behave like the free trade spirit that is in the Constitution. It is easier to ship medication from Canada than wine to and from most states!

As for the grocery store issue, it is very complicated with many wine and liquor stores located directly next to a grocery store, the laws since 1933 have dictated the placement and style of liquor sales in New York. A drastic change in the policy will cause plenty of angst and difficult changes to the way wine is purchased in New York, but it does need to change. I believe there is a way to allow wine stores the ability to evolve their businesses and slowly begin the transition of some wines (especially local wines) into grocery stores. It has been shown that the consumer wants this, along with the ability to purchase wine from other states and directly from wineries. Since it is the consumer that drives the economy and votes, shouldn't that be enough to have things evolve that way? So Governor Cuomo, let's work on a solution to the wine industry that will benefit our stores, restaurants, wine-growers and tax revenues.