A bill to allow farm breweries, wineries and distilleries to sell each other’s products sponsored by state Sen. Patty Ritchie, R-Heuvelton, has passed in the Senate. The aim is to help boost the …
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A bill to allow farm breweries, wineries and distilleries to sell each other’s products sponsored by state Sen. Patty Ritchie, R-Heuvelton, has passed in the Senate.
The aim is to help boost the state’s growing craft beverage industry, according to Ritchie, who represents the western half of St. Lawrence County.
The bill has now been sent to the Assembly, where it is sponsored by Assembly Agriculture Committee Chair Assemblyman William Magee.
While current law allows farm breweries to sell beer or cider, it does not allow them to sell farm wine or spirits. Similarly, while the law allows farm wineries to sell wine or spirits, they cannot sell beer or cider.
Under Ritchie’s measure (S.5707), farm breweries would be permitted to sell wine and spirits, and beer and cider would be able to be sold at farm wineries.
“The popularity of our state’s craft breweries, wineries and distilleries has skyrocketed in recent years and as a result they have helped not only to grow our state’s agriculture industry, but also have created jobs and boosted our overall economy,” said Ritchie, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee.
“When people visit a farm brewery, winery or distillery, odds are they’re also interested in other similar, locally made beverages that aren’t made on site. This legislation would expand markets for producers and as a result, encourage the continued growth of these thriving industries.”
Ritchie says New York’s wine and grape industry generates more than $4.8 billion annually for the state, and includes nearly 1,700 family vineyards, as well as more than 400 wineries—up from just 14 wineries in New York State in 1976. There’s been growth when it comes to distilleries too, with the number of farm distilleries increasing by more than 25 percent in the past year.