Winebits 801: New York, Circle K wine, Villa Maria

This week’s wine news: Once more, the New York wine and supermarket puzzle. Plus, Circle K chain debuts its own wine and the legendary Villa Maria may close

• New York and supermarket wine: New York doesn’t allow supermarkets to sell wine; that’s reserved for liquor stores (which can’t sell potato chips, but that’s another story). The state’s big grocers have been trying to change the law, left over from the repeal of Prohibition, for even longer than I’ve been writing about wine. Another bill has been introduced in the state legislature, and though the story in the link is reasonably optimistic about its chances, the Wine Curmudgeon would not bet on its passage. The package stores have powerful allies in the legislature, and have successfully fended off challenges not only from supermarkets but from big box wine retailers like Total Wine. I used to think the answer to this was easy – let supermarkets sell wine and be done with it. If it works in Texas, why not? But as consolidation has overwhelmed wine retailing, I’m beginning to wonder if it would only benefit the grocers and not consumers.

• Circle K wine: Regular readers know that the WC keeps a close eye on the convenience store wine business, but even I was surprised to see this: Circle K is selling its first private-label wines in 3,000 U.S. stores. They include Sunshine Bliss (under $8) and Fine Wines ($10 to $25). The story doesn’t go into much detail about who makes the wine or where they’re from, but there’s a Circle K near WC world headquarters, so it’s worth a trip. I’ll report back if the store has the wines and what they taste like.

• The end of Villa Maria? Villa Maria, one of the legendary names in New Zealand wine, may be close to the end, reports New Zealand’s Newsroom website. The company, which went through mysterious bankruptcy proceedings several years ago, may move many of its operations to the United Kingdom, and the story hints at layoffs and the sale of the winery. If so, it’s the end to a winery that helped make New Zealand a key part of the world wine business.