Wine sales at farm markets good or bad idea?

Elgin St. Thomas Public Health officials worry that allowing the sale of locally-produced wines at farm markets could mean increased alcohol consumption.

But health board members, particularly St. Thomas Alderman Mark Cosens, want to open up new markets to small wineries that have effectively been blocked out of Liquor Control Board of Ontario stores.

He was backed at a health board meeting Wednesday, April 2, by Central Elgin Mayor Bill Walters, who said liquor was cheaper and more accessible in other parts of the world, but didn’t seem to lead to public health issues there.