Todd Clausen

Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A politically motivated boycott of Wegmans over sales of Trump-branded wines in Virginia?

Some Rochester-area shoppers are calling it nonsense.

"Wegmans is being ethical by not letting a political interest group persuade them to pull a brand of wine," said Andy Frey, a Henrietta resident who is no fan of President Trump. "They are being the ethical party in a free market economy."

The Gates-based grocer is being called on to remove Trump Winery products from its Virginia stores, where it sells 237 different wines from 58 wineries as part of a shop local program.

Grocer faces boycott over Trump wines

The Stop Trump Wine group from Charlottesville has asked Virginians to boycott grocers, retailers, restaurants and other organizations doing business with Trump Winery.

"Events during Donald Trump's campaign made it clear that Eric Trump, the president of Trump Winery in Charlottesville, Virginia, shares the views of his father," according to the group's website. "Let's demonstrate through economic action that the residents and businesses of Charlottesville will not stand for the hatred espoused by Eric Trump and those like him."

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that 300 members of a regional chapter of the National Organization for Women had made plans to pressure Wegmans to take Trump wines off its shelves. A spokesperson for NOW said the organization is not boycotting business, but individual members

"Personally, I would not buy any products made by him or his family because of how he treats women," said Jacklyn Richard, president of the Rochester chapter or NOW. "I don’t know I would boycott the whole store. They have always done good things for the community."

The national president took a harder line, adding that if Wegmans carried Trump wines, she would not shop there.

Wegmans said that consumers and not politics will determine whether it continues to sell products from the Trump Winery.

"Our response is always the same, no matter the product: How a product performs is our single measure for what stays on our shelves and what goes," said Jo Natale, a Wegmans spokesperson. "Our role as a retailer is to offer choice to our customers."

Wegmans has been selling bottles from the Charlottesville winery since 2008, when it was operated by Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard.

Trump purchased the winery in 2011 and gave it to his son, Eric, to run several months later — before he announced his campaign to run for president. Wegmans operates 10 stores in Virginia, with plans to open more. It opened a store in Charlottesville late last year.

CenturyLiquor, purchased by Nicole Wegman 10 years ago, does not sell bottles from Trump Winery.

Marketview Liquor in Henrietta does offer eight varieties of Trump wines, including a chardonnay, Meritage, Winery Rose and others. Some varieties have sold out.

"Up here, it was either love or hate it," said Mike Martin, a line manager at Marketview. "Some people wouldn’t even try it and some people, sight-unseen, would just buy bottles of it."

He described the quality of Trump wines as "very good," with local sales spurred on by the Trump name.

The boycott is the first time in recent months that Wegmans has faced political pressure. Some have criticized its expansion into North Carolina, where a controversial bathroom blocking transgender individuals from using public bathrooms based on their gender identity.

Wegmans has repeatedly said it doesn't believe reversing course is an effective way to influence change in the Tar Heel State.

Retailers and businesses across the country have been caught in the crosshairs over lingering resentment over the election of Trump. Some have tried to move away from the debate by no longer carrying Trump-branded items.

Burlington Coat Factory, Sears, Kmart and Nordstrom have said they would stop selling such products.

Nordstrom said its decision based on performance.

"We've got thousands of brands — more than 2,000 offered on the site alone," Nordstrom said in a statement. "Reviewing their merit and making edits is part of the regular rhythm of our business."

Several Wegmans shoppers didn’t agree with the boycott of the store.

"Too bad the wine isn't in the Rochester Wegmans stores,” said Irondequoit resident Pamela Beers. "This makes me want to dig in my heals, stand firm and buy Trump wine."

Jim Mayer, a former Rochester resident living in New Hope, Pa., said working with current leaders and focusing on the 2018 election are more productive ways to stop Trump.

"If Wegmans, as a company, started taking large efforts to politically support Trump I would feel differently, but I don't think that carrying Trump-branded wines as a tiny part of their portfolio is significant," he said.

Follow Todd Clausen on Twitter: @ToddJClausen

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