ALBANY — The state capital has seen its share of drinking over the years. But rarely has the imbibing had such an imprimatur as on Wednesday, when Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo held a summit meeting devoted to alcohol.

At one point in the day, the Executive Mansion was transformed into an elaborate tasting room: nearly two dozen breweries, wineries and distilleries offered samples, and visitors were given souvenir corkscrews bearing Mr. Cuomo’s name.

The reason for the gathering was to highlight one of New York State’s growing industries, a bright spot at a time when the state’s unemployment rate stands at 8.9 percent. Mr. Cuomo said he had seen “phenomenal growth” in the industry during his 22 months as governor: according to the New York State Liquor Authority, the number of farm wineries has increased 17 percent, the number of microbreweries 74 percent and the number of farm distilleries 211 percent.

Many of the purveyors who were on hand said they were thrilled that Mr. Cuomo wanted to highlight their industry, especially given the sometimes hostile relationship with regulators.