Cuomo announces sales-tax-free wine tastings, $350K for hops research

New York consumers can now enjoy sales-tax-free tastings at wineries that charge a nominal per-person fee and which are already exempt from paying a use tax on the wine used for tastings, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced.

Additionally, the state has allocated $350,000 in funding to research hops and malting barley, which are “key” beer-brewing ingredients. The funding can help specialists understand the varieties and differences that work best for New York agriculture, the governor contends.

Cuomo on Thursday announced both initiatives stemming from the second Wine, Beer and Spirits Summit to support New York’s local wineries and breweries.

Cuomo used the April gathering to launch a $6 million marketing and promotional campaign to raise the profile of New York’s producers of beverages, including beer, spirits, cider, and wine.

A winery must collect tax when making retail sales of wine and wine products, whether it sells the product in bottles or glasses, Cuomo’s office said.

Even though New York’s Tax Law provided an exemption from taxes for when the products are used “at an event sponsored by a winery, farm winery, wholesaler or importer at its licensed premises,” it didn’t previously cover wine tastings.

After winery owners attending the April summit requested the sales-tax exemption, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance worked with the New York State Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control to clarify the exemption in a technical memorandum, the governor’s office said.

A portion of the hops and malting-barley funding will benefit research that the Geneva experiment station at Cornell University is conducting on a hops plot.

One Cornell University official said she is “excited to see this significant investment” in a renewed and growing agricultural industry in New York.

“We look forward to bringing our research and extension resources to bear. We are confident that continuing innovation and expansion lie ahead,” Kathryn Boor, dean of the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, said in Cuomo’s news release

Researchers are currently evaluating about 30 varieties of hops to see which ones work best for New York’s craft-brewing industry. They’re also experimenting with pest-management techniques to see which tools can best combat certain diseases affecting hops, such as downy mildew.

New York currently has about 225 acres of planted hops, including 150 acres that will harvest this year and amount to more than 100,000 pounds of hops, according to Cuomo’s office.

Specialists from Cornell will also experiment with malting barley on variety testing, integrated-disease management, certified-seed production, and weed management.

They’ll work to determine what types of barley work best in New York farm-based beverages.

Traditionally a feed crop in New York, the research will experiment to learn what winter and spring varieties work best in the state for the new purpose of this “growing” industry.

Cuomo’s office believes New York has a “great need” to see what varieties will thrive here to produce a quality crop for malt houses, brewers, and distillers, since the breeding of most available varieties originated in western parts of North America and Europe.

“Hop production in New York is quite different from the Pacific Northwest, where most hops are currently grown. Information from the work at Geneva will assist growers in choosing varieties and pest management strategies suitable for New York conditions,” Steven Miller, hop specialist at Cornell University, said in the same news release.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com