Category: Kentucky Wine Industry News

Posted: 02/01/2012 19:41

Winery pushes for Sunday sales in Warren County

By ROBYN L. MINOR The Daily News


Rex Reid hopes a public campaign he is waging will lead to Warren County Fiscal Court passing an ordinance that would allow his and any other licensed small farm wineries in the county to sell bottles of wine on Sundays.
Reid this week sent out a mass email to his customers and last week launched a Facebook campaign asking people to talk to their magistrates about voting on such a change.

Right now, Reid can sell six days a week from his Alvaton farm, Reid\'s Livery and Winery, where he grows many of the berries used in his wines. An Allen County farmer grows many of the grapes.

\"Probably three out of the four Sundays in a month we have tourists coming here ... not realizing they can\'t buy wine,\" Reid said.

Twenty-four of the state\'s 120 counties have passed ordinances that allow Sunday sales at small farm wineries. In all, the state has more than 60 licensed wineries, according to Tyler Madison, grape and wine director for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. Madison said the number of them that have Sunday sales was not readily available.

\"I do know the bane of vineyards\' existence has been local laws and how muddled the laws are about allowing Sunday sales,\" he said.

Madison said he knows of no statewide effort to seek a consistent law across the board on the state level.
The University of Kentucky is working on an economic impact study that would detail the influence of wineries, including information about the effect of Sunday sales.
Last year, Reid sold about 4,000 bottles of wine. He said representatives from wineries in those 24 counties said farm wineries can expect a 25 percent increase in sales with Sunday sales.

\"That sounds a little high to me ... but you do have your biggest sales on the weekend,\" Reid said.

Reid said he is on several wine trails and his wines have been winning medals in international competitions that are bringing the place some notoriety.
Allowing Sunday sales would not only benefit his business, but others as well.
\"You know anytime someone would get off the interstate to come here, they would probably buy gas and food,\" he said.

\"I had the ordinance all drawn up ... but County Attorney Amy Milliken said I need to have someone bring it before the court,\" Reid said.

Darrell Traughber is Reid\'s magistrate but hasn\'t yet seen Reid\'s operation.

\"That really has no bearing on Sunday sales,\" Traughber said.
Traughber said, at least at this point, he won\'t sponsor or bring the ordinance before Fiscal Court.

\"The other magistrates have not shown any interest,\" Traughber said. \"I don\'t think the votes are there.\"
Magistrate Doc Kaelin said he hasn\'t made up his mind.
\"I probably wouldn\'t make up my mind until the ordinance came before us,\" Kaelin said. \"I\'m not 100 percent against it or 100 percent for it.\"

Kaelin said he is interested in getting more information about the 24 counties that have allowed Sunday sales.
Magistrate Dan Rudloff said he also wants more information about the proposal but couldn\'t say what that information might be.

\"I would need to see if people felt differently,\" Rudloff said, without qualifying the comment.

Kaelin explained why he\'s still on the fence. \"I see the good and the bad in it,\" Kaelin said. \"But there are no package liquor sales on Sunday in Warren County, and would this give him an advantage over other people out there with a liquor license?\"

Reid said restaurants for years have been allowed to sell alcohol by the drink on Sunday. State law for a few years has allowed restaurant customers to take home any unfinished wine in a bottle as long as it is recorked and placed in a bag.

\"I can go eight miles from my farm and have a pitcher of margaritas on Sunday, but I can\'t sell an (unopened) bottle of wine,\" Reid said.

Other magistrates could not be reached for comment for this story.

\"I\'m not sure what\'s going to happen with this,\" Reid said. \"But at least people will know that there is a winery in Alvaton.\"

- For more information about the winery or Reid\'s campaign, go to www.reidsliverywinery.com or call Reid at 843-6330.
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