A new law allows beer and wine samples to be offered at farmers markets, but vendors shouldn’t break out the tasting glasses just yet.
The law, signed by Gov. Maggie Hassan last week, takes effect in August and leaves it up to towns and cities to decide whether they will authorize alcohol sampling at the local markets, many of which are held on municipal property.
The Contoocook Farmers Market, for example, is held in the Railroad Depot parking lot and usually spills over onto town land by the gazebo on the Contoocook River. During winter, it’s held at the Hopkinton town hall.
The town’s alcohol ordinance, adopted in 2006, specifically restricts consuming alcohol or possessing an open container on public grounds, effectively barring sampling at the farmers market in spite of the new state law.
“The way it is currently written, we would not be able to allow it,” said Jim O’Brien, chairman of the Hopkinton select board. “But ordinances can be changed.”
Many towns have similar rules but will make exceptions for certain areas, O’Brien said, adding the board would be willing to discuss an exception or even change the ordinance.
“I’d assume there would have to be restrictions on it,” he said, such as keeping alcohol away from schools and athletic fields. “The town is still liable and we would have to be careful with how it is done.”
Leaving the decision up to the towns was part of the bill’s design, and legislators felt it was the right choice as town officials weighed in during a study of the bill.
“The best course of action is to enable municipalities to authorize it and go through their own process,” said state Sen. Dan Feltes, who helped design the bill from its inception.
The town has allowed alcohol to be sold at the farmers market for several years, but only in a closed container. Jim Ramanek, a Contoocook Farmers Market committee member, believes most towns would prefer keeping alcohol containers closed, but he says giving vendors the ability to offer samples will open them up to more sales.
“Farmers markets are expanding in a couple of different directions, and this is one of them,” Ramanek said, as more markets see vineyards and breweries becoming vendors. “Once you try something, it absolutely helps get the customer to buy it.”
That’s how Joan O’Connor of Henniker sees it. O’Connor, a board member of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire and farmers market organizer, contacted her state representative and senator to get a bill written and begin the legislative process. Several months later, the bill passed the House and Senate with bipartisan support.
“This is commerce, this is jobs, this is money,” O’Connor said. “It’s about helping vendors and farmers markets. . . . Small brewers have an advantage now.”
Peter Oldack, co-owner with his wife, Brenda, of Jewell Towne Vineyards out of South Hampton, said giving customers a chance to sample their wines makes a “tremendous difference.” Oldack doesn’t expect buyers to already know about their wine, although it can be found in more than 150 stores and restaurants.
“If they are able to taste it, they will be much more inclined to buy it and drink it as their house wine,” Oldack said. “Without that, it is like walking into a wine store and seeing a wine only by its label.”
Jewell Towne Vineyards has been a vendor with the Concord Farmers Market for 10 years, and is also sold at the Portsmouth Farmers Market and several markets in Massachusetts, where sampling is already allowed. Oldack claims his sales are far higher at farmers markets in Massachusetts, and he believes this is due to the ability to offer a sample.
“If you go to Hannaford or Market Basket, often times there is someone sampling wine for you to taste,” Oldack said. “This puts us on par with grocery stores in terms of our ability to sell.”
Over the past 14 years, Oldack has sold wine in nearly a dozen New Hampshire farmers markets but has pulled back and focused on the larger markets in Concord and Portsmouth. The onus is on the vendor to be approved to sell alcohol by local government and the state liquor commission. These permits are renewed each year.
“We have found in the smaller markets – because we can’t sample – it has not been to our advantage,” he said.
Beginning in August, the option to sample will be there as long as the market has approval from the city of Concord. Wayne Hall, president of the Concord Farmers Market, said the board in charge of the market will work with the city to be permitted properly.
“We’ll make sure the city and zoning office is okay with it,” Hall said. “Concord Farmers Market is fortunate to have an excellent relationship with the city.”
With or without a sample, Hall said buyers are likely to be repeat customers if vendors deliver a consistent product. But vendors like Oldack believe a sample increases the likelihood of making that initial sale.
“It will probably be a plus, but I don’t see it as a necessary thing,” Hall said. “Word of mouth spreads like wildfire.”
(Nick Stoico can be reached at 369-3309, nstoico@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @NickStoico.)