Todd Clausen

@ToddJClausen

Grocer says "performance" will decide fate of Trump Winery products.

Local shoppers feel there are other ways to put pressure on President Trump.

Several varieties of Trump wines are sold out at Marketview Liquor.

Wegmans Food Markets is the latest retailer to face political pressure for carrying products connected to President Donald Trump.

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 in that state.

The Stop Trump Wine group 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."

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

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President Trump purchased the winery in 2011 and gave it to his son, Eric, to run several months later — before the elder Trump announced a run for the country's top public office.

"Our role as a retailer is to offer choice to our customers," Jo Natale, a Wegmans spokeswoman, said in an email.

She said the 92-store chain only looks at one thing when it is asked to either pull or add an item.

"How a product performs is our single measure for what stays on our shelves and what goes," Natale said.

However, several retailers have decided to separate themselves from the president and his family.

Burlington Coat Factory, which operates in the Rochester area, has dropped Ivanka Trump products, Nordstrom has said it was also no longer going to carry her products.

Meanwhile, Sears and Kmart have stopped selling Trump Home furnishings online.

Nordstrom said in a statement that its decision was based on performance.

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

TClausen@Gannett.com