PENNSYLVANIA State stores improve fine-wine selection

The state will sponsor two wine festivals this year.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- State-sponsored wine festivals. In-store tastings with hors d'oeuvres. Increased selections. Sunday sales.
Pennsylvania's state stores are going upscale.
"It's a much better selection when it comes to better wines," said Robert B. Smith, a Pittsburgh attorney who was browsing a downtown specialty shop over lunch Tuesday.
Often, he said, higher-end wines are priced at or below what wine magazines list in reviews.
Smith, who says he's trying to learn more about wine to keep up with his grown children's interests, is also impressed with the staff.
"They're knowledgeable, helpful and responsive," he said.
Store manager Cathy Zander said that's because she's taken the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board's wine education courses. She's been to wineries in Pennsylvania, Washington and Oregon and says it helps when dealing with customers, many of whom are repeats and rely on the staff for guidance.
The improved selection goes beyond wine, too.
Some stores' selection of single malt scotches matches or exceeds offerings in any other state.
Goal for Pennsylvania
PLCB Chairman Jonathan Newman said his goal is to make Pennsylvania wine-friendly.
For example, after a successful debut in Philadelphia last year, the PLCB is expanding its wine festival. It will be held in Philadelphia on Thursday and in Pittsburgh on Friday. Winemakers from the United States and Europe will be at both festivals.
The PLCB recently launched an Internet site so people can have wines and spirits delivered to a liquor store of their choice. It's also building a temperature-controlled distribution center in southwestern Pennsylvania to protect wine quality.
"If it gets too hot, it cooks [the wines] and ruins them," Newman said. Wines that show signs of leakage or other quality problems are returned or not accepted, he added.
Newman also is investigating the possibility of selling wines and spirits in grocery stores.
Sales increase
With Internet and Sunday sales, which began in February, and in-store samplings, Newman said sales have been unprecedented. February's sales were up 16 percent compared with February 2002, he said, and March and April sales are also up over last year.
His goal isn't necessarily for people to drink more, but to drink better and to recapture Pennsylvanians who shop in border states.
"I want to take a $10 white zinfandel drinker and I want to graduate them to a $13 pinot grigio or a $15 cabernet," he said. "Once people try better wine, they never go back."