Wine With Dinner

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MYTH:

Wine sales in grocery stores will harm private liquor stores.

FACT:

Based on the experience of states that currently allow the sale of wine in grocery stores, private liquor stores are NOT harmed.

Private liquor stores succeed in Wine With Dinner states because they have different marketing strategies, there is a demand for other alcohol products and competition forces retailers to focus on customers' needs.

Of the five cities with the most liquor stores per capita, four allow wine sales in grocery stores.
CITY	LIQUOR STORES PER 100,000 PEOPLE	WINE IN GROCERY STORES?
Baltimore	45.30	Yes
Miami	41.38	Yes
Washington, DC	37.58	Yes
Detroit	37.00	Yes
Denver	37.68	No
Source: Analysis by the Minnesota Grocers Association of data from ReferenceUSA and the U.S. Census Bureau of liquor operations in the 50 largest cities in the U.S.

Upper Midwest data demonstrates private liquor stores are not harmed by wine sales in grocery stores.
CITY	LIQUOR STORES PER 100,000 PEOPLE	WINE IN GROCERY STORES?
Milwaukee	19.09	Yes
Minneapolis	18.55	No
Source: Analysis by the Minnesota Grocers Association of data from ReferenceUSA and the U.S. Census Bureau of liquor operations in the 50 largest cities in the U.S.

MYTH:

Wine in grocery stores will affect youth access to alcohol.

FACT:

Statistics from the FBI – along with the experience of 33 current Wine With Dinner states – indicate there is no increase in youth liquor violations when wine is sold in grocery stores.

No state has repealed wine in grocery store laws. Grocers have proven to be responsible retailers.

States with the MOST Youth Liquor Violations Per Capita
STATE	VIOLATIONS PER 100,000 PEOPLE	WINE IN GROCERY STORES?
Wyoming	222.5	No
North Dakota	189.7	No
Wisconsin	144.4	Yes
Minnesota	140.6	No
Oregon	116.1	Yes
Source - FBI Crime Statistics 2005

States with the FEWEST Youth Liquor Violations Per Capita
STATE	VIOLATIONS PER 100,000 PEOPLE	WINE IN GROCERY STORES?
Illinois	2.4	Yes
New York	5.9	No
Georgia	6.3	Yes
Hawaii	6.8	Yes
Florida	7.3	Yes
Source - FBI Crime Statistics 2005

MYTH:	Wine in grocery stores will significantly affect overall wine consumption.
FACT:	Purchasing a bottle of wine to go with your dinner menu is unlikely to greatly increase wine consumption. In fact, there is only a modest difference in wine consumption between the states that currently sell wine in grocery stores and the states that do not.
According to the Adams Wine Handbook, wine consumption in states with Wine With Dinner laws is only 6 percent higher than the national average.

MYTH:

Cities with municipal liquor operations will be harmed if wine is sold in grocery stores.

FACT:

Most cities will see minimal impact from competition caused by the Wine With Dinner bill.

Compared to hard liquor and beer, wine sales are still a fairly small portion of overall municipal liquor sales. Assuming that city-owned liquor stores receive 15 percent of their current income from wine, the overall impact on municipal budgets will be small and potentially mitigated by sales of other products.

Find out how little your city will be impacted by Wine With Dinner.