New York's beer and wine summit in Albany on Oct. 24, 2012ALBANY, N.Y. - State regulators, farmers and orchard growers are heading to Albany for New York's wine and beer "summit."
The aim of the meeting is to boost wine production and craft brewers, in part to spur job growth.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Farm Bureau will lead the discussion of ways state government can help these old, but small, industries flourish in New York.
It's something Cuomo takes very seriously as he sees this being a key to boosting the state's economy, but of course there were plenty of jokes flying too. At one point the governor even asking whether it's a coincidence that beer and wine sales are up since he's been in office.
But it's the more serious ideas that are being presented in this summit, such as new marketing strategies and education that will help shape the future of the industry.
"The old economy is not going to come back," Cuomo said. "If this state sits around waiting for the old economy to come back, it's going to be sitting here for a long time. The question is creating the new economy, and the new economy is around cluster economies and business synergies."
A lot of questions and discussions were had about how to get tourists to realize the state is much more than just New York City, especially relevant when talking about wineries, breweries and distilleries which live upstate and to the west.
A similar summit on Greek-style yogurt resulting in the easing of some environmental protection restrictions on dairy farms.
The summit continues at The Egg in downtown Albany until 2 p.m. Wednesday, followed by a reception at the governor's mansion where there will be samples from New York wineries.
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