MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — Gov. Tom Wolf chose three Pennsylvania wines and a six-pack of beer, and paid in cash. Not far behind him in line was House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, who picked up a bottle of white.
The two are usually on opposite sides of the political debate, but on Thursday, they had a meeting of the minds on making booze more accessible to consumers, hoisting flutes of champagne to toast the first bottle of wine sold at a Wegmans store in Pennsylvania.
"Here in Pennsylvania, that is a really, really big deal," Mr. Wolf told the politicians, businessman, shoppers and gawkers gathered at the supermarket in a Harrisburg suburb.
That is because for the first time since the end of Prohibition, the state is allowing private retailers like supermarkets that obtain specific licenses to sell wine, breaking the monopoly held by state-run wine and spirit shops.
A bill passed by the Republican-controlled legislature this past June and signed into law by the Democratic Wolf allows restaurants, hotels, and hundreds of grocery and convenience stores to sell up to four bottles of wine to go. State-run stores will still be the only place for consumers to buy hard liquor, and the new law allowed them to open more stores — and with extended hours — on Sundays.
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has since received 243 requests for permits to sell wine to go, and issued 120, officials said.
The Wegmans in suburban Harrisburg is the second major supermarket chain in as many weeks to launch a pilot program for selling wine, with Giant Eagle introducing its pilot program last month.
The program will help those stores and the LCB work out kinks in ordering and distributing the wine.
LCB officials could not say how many retailers are actually selling wine now, but they expect most to be stocking wine on their shelves by the holiday season.
Officials from Wegmans, which has stores in Malvern, King of Prussia and four other locations within 25 miles of Philadelphia, said all 17 of its Pennsylvania stores will be selling wine by Thanksgiving.
“Pennsylvania is finally moving into the 21st century,” Mr. Turzai, the legislature's most outspoken advocate for privatizing liquor sales, said at the store.
He selected a bottle of Cupcake, a California winery. Mr. Wolf bought two bottles from Nissley Vineyards & Winery in Lancaster County and a red from Moon Dancer Winery, Cider and Taphouse in York County. He also picked up a six-pack of Yuengling.
Both were asked for their IDs at the register.
Angela Couloumbis: acouloumbis@phillynews.com, 717-787-5934, @AngelasInk
First Published: September 1, 2016, 9:26 p.m.
