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I am a fan of all the great little wine stores in NYC -- like Greene Grape, Sip, Fermented Grapes, Red White & Bubbly. If this changes goes through, I really hope it won't hurt them.

If chain stores are allowed to sell wine, I think small wine stores should get something out of the deal too. Let them sell beer, cheese, and snacks. They should also be allowed to open more than one shop if they want to.

Trader Joe's Union Square has also proven that it isn't really that store can't sell wine. They just need to come up with a crafty work around. I'm glad that the TJ's wine isn't sold in the same store as the food -- it keeps the lines down in the wine shop.

It's a brilliant idea. I don't think it will hurt independent merchants. They'll just need to step their game up a little bit.

I think this will absolutely hurt small wine & liquor stores, as well as wine quality -- we're talking about grabbing a bottle of wine at the same place we buy our toilet paper. I don't know what the job implications of this would be -- certainly some would be lost and others gained -- but there are other, non-tangible factors involved. Yes, some people will still visit the independent stores for special occasion wines, but for everyday table wines, forget it. And that's a shame for wine culture, since there is no way that grocery store staff will have the same knowledge base as do employees of a wine shop.

In my case, I live in a country where grocery stores sell everything, from wine to hard alcohol. There are NO independent stores, even though there should "technically" be a market for knowledgeable wine & liquor salesmen -- in my opinion, this shows that we are mostly creatures of convenience, and people often prefer what's easy to what's best. There's nothing wrong with that (I think we all do it), but it makes me feel that wine culture may die a bit with this law. I, for example, have to google what wines go best with what meals, and hope that my store will have something fitting (and that the google results didn't lie). I miss going into a Pennsylvania State Store, where friendly employees would suggest several different wine pairings, explain each bottle's history and tell me why they'd be delicious with my dinner. It's an art form!

Funny, I'm watching TV right now and just saw an ad for Vote for Wine. How timely! It's getting serious, apparently. Thought I'd update all of you: the ad says it was paid for by Wegmans.

Problem is the Store managers don't know is you can't sell alcohol over 10% and employ people under age of 21 in NYS the only exception is for family of liquor license holder

We live in a part of the world where grocery stores sell everything -- wine, beer and hard liquor -- but there are also "cavistes" who specialize in special and unusual vintages.

It is definitely a convenience to be able to buy wine and alcohol in the grocery store, and some have a really outstanding selection. Of course, there is no service. Because wine is so convenient to purchase, we rarely venture into a true wine store -- shopping is so inconvenient here, what with limited hours and parking -- that we take advantage of every convenience we can.

As for teenagers, well, 16 year olds are legally allowed to drink beer, wine and hard cider. There are different driver's licensing regulations, and so teenagers tend to be on either public transportation or scooters (and sometimes motorcycles).

Since NY state does not have a system of state alcohol stores, I think that there is not as much to be gained by this move, and perhaps much to be lost. I think you *will* see a loss of jobs as wine stores close, and those jobs will not be transferred to grocery stores; wine experts will be lost.

There are plenty of wine stores that sell bad wine, too. When I was a tourist in Italy, it was really convenient to buy wine at the supermarket. No, it might not have been the most quality brands, but it was nice to get a bottle for a quick dinner of cheese and crackers. And it wouldn't be that hard to check a person's id when they are buying liquor in the grocery store...they already sell beer.

I see both sides of this. I am not a fan of my local liquor store. It has mediocre wine and no one has ever offered any wine advice to me. I also do my grocery shopping at a food coop, and I know they'd stock some delicious wines if they were allowed. (their beer selection is already great)

I also really appreciate some of the wine stores in Manhattan, places like Astor Wines. There's always something new to try, and something on sale or tastings or something. I imagine that they'd suffer, and that's a shame.

I've spent a decent amount of time in Maine, where wine is available at the supermarket. It's usually pretty mediocre wine, mass produced stuff. Yes, it's convenient, but it's not like what you can get at Astor.

Bottom line: I"d like to get my wine at the coop, but I doubt Key Food is going to have much wine worth buying.

I am originally from Chicago, where grocery stores are allowed to sell beer, liquor, and wine in the store. There are still plenty of liquor stores because they figured out that by offering a better, more specialized selection and good service, they could still be successful.

Perhaps this move would force liquor stores to stay open later. It drives me crazy that in New York, I can't buy liquor or wine near my house after eight pm.

Erin in CR: I understand your point, but the vast majority of liquor stores here do not have a particularly knowledgeable or helpful staff. That depends on the store and the quality of wine one is searching for; liquor and wine shops that cater to this will continue to exist.

Coming from Oklahoma originally, any other liquor laws sound fantastic--we have only 3.2 beer in grocery stores...and it gets more and more obscure from there!

I will say that the selection and knowledgeable employees in my favorite wine shop would keep me going even if the laws changed.

I am in Tennessee and when I was in Publix last week and saw a large display with cards to mail in if we supported the the selling of wine in grocery stores. I grabbed a handful to pas out to friends since this would be a great thing! If I want something esoteric, then I can go to a liquor store. I live in a mid size college town and the liquor stores know quite a lot about cheap vodka, but not so much about wine. I like having choices and this will give me one more option when I want to buy wine.

NYC grocery stores are already so tiny that I hate to think what would be displaced to make room for wine. I'd rather go to my friendly, neighborhood wine shop.