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WINE -IN -GROCERY STORES ---- FACT SHEET <br />1. MINNESOTA'S EXCLUSIVE LIQUOR STORES ARE DOING AN EXCELLENT JOB OF MARKETING <br />WINE RESPONSIBLY: <br />A. Extremely Broad Selection --- Competitive Pricing --- Warm Atmosphere --- <br />Attractive Wine Department Fixturing --- Large Percentage of Overall Floor <br />Space Devoted to Wine; <br />B. Helpful, Professionally Trained Sales Assistance; <br />C. A High Percentage of Store Personnel are Women which accounts for a <br />typical Customer Count of Over 60% Women; and <br />D. Exclusive Liquor Stores DO NOT WANT TO GO INTO THE CHEESE OR GROCERY BUSINESS. <br />2. MINE (like beer, s its 8 cordials IS AN ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE THAT MUST BE TAXED, <br />0 R1 oll�D 6 �€ u Ii T€6 rrx€-AAu L i SEV€k7(( <br />A. The issue is not whether wine is a food but whether wine is an alcoholic <br />beverage; <br />1) Wine has no more food value than beer or spirits or cordials; <br />2) Medically, all beverage alcohol is viewed as providing only "empty <br />calories" <br />3) Beverage alcohol is not a substitute, nor efficient source of food; <br />B. Wine is taxed, both federally and locally as beverage alcohol, not food; and <br />C. Wine sales are controlled by the Alcohol Control Boards in all 50 states. <br />3. LIQUOR CONTROL POLICIES ARE BEST DETERMINED AT A STATE-WIDE LEVEL: <br />State government is far better prepared than local city councils to gather <br />and evaluate all the facts necessary to consider the consequences of <br />liquor control policy; <br />So -Called "local option" does not work; <br />1) Local option has failed in Sunday opening; <br />2 Local option has become "local blackmail" in 10:00 P.M. Friday Closings; <br />3 Local option does not work in competitive community and suburban <br />situations; <br />4 Wine is not the proper weapon for contiguous border wars; <br />5 Local option has been a hideous failure in Chicago; <br />6) Wine alcohol control policy is not a fitting subject for intense <br />political pressure on local governments where many a councilmember tan <br />be a grocer, liquor dealer etc. <br />4. GROCERY WINE SALES ARE INHERENTLY MORE DIFFICULT TO CONTROL THAN EXCLUSIVE LIQUOR <br />STOREWISALES. <br />A. Package liquor stores are almost always, one -owner -operated businesses <br />where the force of the liquor control coawissions can be overwhelming; <br />B. Grocery stores are often highly organized as large chains where the <br />threat of closing a single store for illegal wines sales has a minimal <br />threat on overall operations, <br />C. Grocers are structured with strong ties between Producers, Wholesalers, <br />and Retailers --- many of which relationships are illegal in the carefully <br />controlled Three -Tier System of liquor control; <br />D. Minnesota's Liquor Control Commission lacks the budget and manpower to <br />handle a potential 300% increase is outlets for wine -- especially for <br />outlets not experienced with the special problems of selling alcoholic <br />beverages. <br />