New York is one of the best wine cities in the world, some may even say one of the best drinking cities in general, but the city may be about to experience a wine and liquor shortage. The union employees of Empire Merchants, the fifth largest distributor of wine and liquor in the U.S., are on strike after failing to agree on a new contract, according to Fox 5. The distributor ships hundreds of wines and spirits throughout New York, and the last shipment went out on October 31st, before the strike.
While demand for wine and spirits is always high in large metropolitan areas such as New York, demand is particularly high during the holiday season. Whiskey and Wine General Manager Joseph Ptrolawicz tells Fox 5 that wine shops and liquor stores make a lot of their revenue between the end of September and the end of December. He continued, saying he has enough stock for the time being, but will do business with other distributors if necessary.
Restaurants and bars will also feel the squeeze. As tourists flock to New York for the holiday season, stocks will quickly run low. Businesses will have the additional burden of finding new distributors — and finding them quickly — during the busiest time of the year.
Either way, better stock up now just in case.
