New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called for a “summit” to boost the beer and wine industries in New York State.
The beer and wine effort will involve farmers and manufacturers and state regulators.
This summer the Legislature restored a tax break for craft brewers in New York, providing an advantage over competitors from outside the state. The package of laws also allows farmers to sell craft beer at farmers markets.
The National Association of American Wineries has put New York at No. 2 in production nationwide among the states, still at a fraction of California’s output. In New York, the wine industry employs about 5,000 on a $20 million payroll, although the industry says the wages earned from growing to retail is over $1 billion a year.
The Governor initiated a similar summit this summer to try to make the state the nation’s largest producer of Greek-style yogurt.