Texas wineries and distilleries get get more than 51% of their profits from alcohol sales are asking Gov. Greg Abbot to ease restrictions.
Patrick Whitehead, president of the Texas Wine & Grape Growers Association, said in a statement, “Tasting rooms are a significant source of income and marketing opportunities for Texas wineries and many wineries will not be able to survive a prolonged shutdown. The wine industry in Texas has a direct and indirect economic impact of close to $15 billion to the state of Texas every year, including over $1 billion paid in state and local taxes.”
Distilleries in Texas have lost 60% to 80% of their revenues. But this loss spans many different sectors of the industry. A survey by the Texas Craft Breweries Guild in late-July which found that one-third of breweries would close for good if the closure lasted three months. That total doubles after six months.
A group of wineries launched “Save Texas Wineries” with a corresponding website. They are advocating that tasting rooms be freed up to operate as usual, with the necessary precautions, saying that “due to the spacing and outside spaces, wineries act much more like restaurants” than are bars. Also: Wineries operate during day time hours, not late at night like bars.