States consider alcohol tasting at farmers markets

YAKIMA, Washington, Mar 11 (AP): Wade Bennett peddles hard cider and wine at farmers markets in and around Seattle, but his $20 bottles can be a tough sell when consumers can't sip and swirl the beverages first. So for the second year in a row, Bennett has thrown his support behind a bill to allow beer and wine tasting at farmers markets in Washington, a state long known for its craft beers and the No 2 producer of premium wine. Nationwide, small wineries, craft brewers and distillers have been slowly chipping away at laws restricting sampling and sales as they grab more of the market. Several states now allow limited wine tastings at grocery stores, and a few, such as Oregon and Virginia, allow them at farmers markets. Bennett said tastings are an important way for companies like his to introduce their products to prospective customers. Unlike big wineries and brewers, who sell through distributors, 90 per cent of his sales are directly to the public. "Our major retail sales are in the farmers' markets," Bennett said. "It's very important for the little itty-bitty wineries off the beaten path." Opponents worry allowing tastings at farmers markets will foster drinking and make it easier for minors to get access to alcohol. "Our bigger concern is the example it sets for kids, when drinking is happening in really public places," said Jim Cooper, president of the Washington Association for Substance Abuse and Violence Prevention. No group specifically tracks state regulations regarding alcohol sales at farmers markets. But Stacy Miller, executive director of the national Farmers Market Coalition, said there's a growing recognition of the importance direct-to-consumer sales of agricultural products like beer and wine have for local economies. "There's no reason that vineyards and wineries, when sampling and selling responsibly, shouldn't have the right to fully participate alongside their agricultural peers at farmers markets," she said.