Wine sold in grocery store- whats your opinion?

[tvguy]

You havent been to my grocery store then
It has aisles of wine and also a seperate wine cave!

Same here. I went looking for Daly's premade Strawberry Daiquiri's, they come in an individual foil pouch (you know, like Capri Sun comes in, but bigger). You stick them in the freeze for a couple of hours, and you have a great Daiguiri without having to break out the blender.
But I'm in California, and grocery stores have always been able to sell everything with alcohol in it. My grocery store has 2 full long long long isles of wine and hard liquor, and a third long isle of beer. And yes, they do have sales on alcohol, no fixed prices.
Beverages and More carries them, but they are 6 miles from my house and we have a ton of little liquor stores around my house, so I headed to Bev Mo but stopped at every Mom and Pop liquor store on the way.. I could not believe how little inventory they had. Lots and lots of beer, lots of cigarettes and cigars, tons and tons of chips, snacks, beef sticks, pre-made sandwiches, but only a few bottles of wine, a few bottles of hard liquior and mixers. They looked more like the mini-mart at the gas station than a liquor store.
Worst alcohol purchasing experiences I've ever had are in Canada with the Provincial run liquor stores. Last summer I bought a 12 pack of Smirnoffs coolers, they sell for $9 in the grocery store here, you can get them on sale sometimes for $7, they were $37 in the Saskatchewan Provincial liquor store!

 

[Conservative Hippie]

I don't drink and I don't care if the grocery store sells it.

 

[Planogirl]

I buy hard liquor very rarely but when I do I enjoy going to a good liquor store. It's interesting to look at what's new. The grocery stores here do sell wine and beer but so do the liquor stores and they usually have a better selection.

I don't see the big deal.

 

[daughtersrus]

Our grocery stores carry a full line of alcohol beverages. If I had to guess, at least 1/4 of the store is dedicated to the "liquor department".

Go figure, the only time that I go to a liquor store is to get something that doesn't have alcohol in it. The bloody mary mix that my DH likes is only sold at one chain liquor store in our area.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Ours sells wine except they won't sell it on Sundays. It's very convenient for me.

If I had to go to the liquor store for wine, I'd come home with whiskey, tequila and vodka too just to keep the liquor cabinet stocked.

 

[MIGrandma]

Not only is wine sold in our grocery stores, but hard liquor as well. I don't have a problem with it.

 

[kacaju]

I am in NJ. We do not sell any type of liquor in grocery stores (with the exception of very few stores).
So one day I go into the Wegmans (which is one of the few that do sell it) in Bridgewater where my brother works. I do not normally shop there as it is far from my home. I was with my brother and he needed to go in and talk to someone, so I said I would quickly do my shopping.

Because I am not used to seeing wine or beer in my store imagine my surprise when I grabbed a few bottles of what I thought was Sparkling Cider (my kids love it)
Thank goodness they check ID's when you buy it!!
I have no problem with it...in my case, I wish it was labled a little better. I just saw the bottles on the endcap, and like i said, I am not used to seeing liquior in stores!!

 

[cassiez76]

we sell everything pretty much anywhere in NOLA!

it drove me crazy when i lived in the north part of the state when you couldn't get a six pack on sunday to watch football. it was always plan a day ahead after that.

 

[arminnie]

I've been in Arkansas 10 years. I just discovered about 6 months ago that you can't buy beer at the grocery store on Sunday. I guess I'd never tried before.

Also in Arkansas the grocery stores can only sell ARKANSAS wine. Bet you didn't even know they had any. Really silly.

New Orleans - you can buy anything anytime anywhere and to drinks in go cups.

I used to have fun making my California friends' heads explode. CA is so strict on open container laws. Nothing in the car. I'd pick up someone at the airport and then go thru the drive thru daiquiri place where you could order not only a daiquiri but a gin and tonic to go.

Now I didn't drink and drive - but would order them something. I swear the CA people were almost afraid someone was going to come arrest them for having a drink in a car.

Until fairly recent history (20 years???) it was not illegal to drink and drive in Texas. It was illegal to be drunk but someone could legally have a scotch in their hand (or more likely a beer) while driving. They would even sip it if pulled over by a trooper. As long as they were not legally drunk they were okay.

I also saw a 6 year old legally order a mimosa in Texas several years ago. As long as the parents said it was okay it was legal.

Liquor laws vary more than anything across the states. I'm always surprised when some people don't know that.

But to the original question - having lived in states which were extremely restrictive (PA) to LA (probably most lenient), I found I bought more where it was restricted. Had to stock up as opposed to being able to get it if needed.

I know that in college we drank far less in LA than my friends who went to U. of Arkansas. We bought by the drink (had to pay at the end of the evening so had to limit by money if nothing else) - people who bought by the bottle tended to drink it all.

 

[postage stamp]

I'm from IL where you can buy beer, wine, and liquor at the grocery store.

When I moved to WA after about 3 weeks of not being able to find rum I asked a lady who worked at the grocery store where the liquor was. She looked at me like I was mentally ill and said "Uh, The LIQUOR STORE?"

For the life of me I can't understand WHY you can't buy what a store is willing to sell you.

 

[ems_mom]

I live in MD where we cannot buy any beer, wine or liquor in the grocery stores. In my area liquor stores are also closed on Sundays. It seems Maryland is very restrictive but a patchwork state, as some areas (like Ocean City) allow beer and wine to be sold at convenience stores.

I find it very annoying as these laws seem to be more about the wholesaler/retailer profits vs any moral issue. Apparently, things are like this because this is the way its always been done.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

Wine not?

 

[bumbershoot]

What mom and pop stores?

That's the thing. If a state *changes*, then there will be a huge change that happens to those who own stores like that.

WA sells wine and beer in grocery stores, but not liquor. We had two recent measures on the ballot to vote on, both of which would have taken liquor and put it into groceries. Both were voted down. Some would think that it's a morality thing, but to me it wasn't.

There are state stores and then franchises; the taxes from these places fund lots of different things. To take those taxes away, even though it would decrease the cost of, say, vodka by FIFTY percent, would take away a whole tax base. And there was absolutely NO plan to replace it.

Of course, that doesn't mean I'm totally opposed to it! After all, the state had just allowed a tax on bottled water and "candy" to go into effect, and they had those taxes going towards things...but they didn't think it through. Candy was based on wheat content...so a gluten free bar that was incredibly health was "candy" and taxed, while a Kit Kat was NOT, because it has wheat in it. And my area fluoridates and chlorinates the water, which makes it gross and bad for us, so drinking the tap water has become unacceptable as well...we get delivered water now, and it peeved me that they tax on it...if the tap water were good, then the bottled water would be a luxury but since they've refused to hear anyone on the issues, it's not a luxury.

That was repealed just a few months after it started. The things the taxes were going towards weren't long-standing, and had other ways of funding them. The things that liquor taxes fund were LONG standing, and needed to have measures in place so they weren't left bereft.

Plus, it WOULD put some of those places out of business. Why would I buy vodka for $32 when I could buy it for $20, literally 5 storefronts away? That just added to the "hmm, good idea, but not right now" aspect of it.


so your state doesn't have mom and pop places, because wine is sold in grocery stores. In the OP's state, however, the businesses are there, in place, because it's not there...to put the wine in the stores means a BIG change in business.

we sell everything pretty much anywhere in NOLA!

it drove me crazy when i lived in the north part of the state when you couldn't get a six pack on sunday to watch football. it was always plan a day ahead after that.

I still remember being very confused by the darkened beer section at the Piggly Wiggly in South Carolina...almost tried to buy beer on Sunday before it finally hit me what day it was! (I'm not a church OR football person, so nothing really reminded me of the day) Blue laws crack me up! But they also make states and regions have their own special "flavor", and I'd kinda hate to have it all be the same everywhere...

 

[arminnie]

Why should I have to pay more for a product so mom&pop can take my money home to spend?

Now I will shop at small stores that provide me a real service. I will pay more money - for something. I love small bookstores with unique stock. I have an aunt who keeps sending me Barnes & Noble gift cards. I have a stack of them because I never go in there.

But I refuse to pay more money for INCONVENIENCE and so somebody else can have my money.

Mom & Pop stores as a concept are so over-rated. Believe me I grew up with them, knew several owners, etc. Too often they don't provide benefits to employees or much of anything else but price gouging.

 

[LaurenLC]

Not that I'm a big drinker, but I love that they sell wine in the grocery stores here. My husband is from PA and I always find it annoying that we have to go to a separate store to buy wine and liquor at other stores when we are visiting.

 

[Poohbear123]

That's one reason I love living in FL!

Me too, especially Publix, they have an awesome wine aisle and prices are good too.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

I don't drink alcohol, but I could care less where they sell it. My mom likes a glass of wine with dinner, and the little grocery/convenience store in the lobby of her apartment building sells it. She had surgery last year and was in a wheelchair for about 8 weeks. The fact that she could wheel herself down the elevator to buy the necessities and a bottle of wine, seemed like a good thing.

 

[Art 1]

I don't have a problem with it. Wine is sold here in Florida in grocery stores. Rarely do you see any shoppers in that section.

 

[si-am]

I'm in GA, and wine and beer are both sold in grocery stores here. However, I honestly wouldn't care where it was sold if I could buy it on Sundays.

 

[golfgal]

We have liquor stores here and no liquor sold on Sunday. When we lived in South Dakota it was a little shock to see liquor sold in the grocery stores (all kinds, wine, beer, hard liquor). On Sunday there you couldn't buy liquor until after 12 noon so they would rope off that area. The only "issue" I have with liquor sold in grocery stores is often the kids working the check out stands aren't old enough to "sell" liquor so you have to wait for a manager to come over and ring you up. It was convenient.

We have a liquor store right next to our grocery store but I rarely shop there because their selection isn't very good so I go to the one across the street .