Wine Festival Helps Attendees Avoid NY DWI

Finger Lakes event sets up precautions to help keep wine tasters from driving drunk in New York.

The allure of the Finger Lakes Wine Festival in Watkins Glen is obvious for wine lovers; more than 100 different regional wines to sample. It also meant the unfortunate possibility of participants driving while intoxicated.

Organizers of the annual event responded by providing free water and rewarding attendees who didn’t want to drink with a designated drivers program. In addition, a shuttle was set up between the festival on the raceway grounds and nearby hotels.

The Schuyler County’s Sheriff’s Department also took action. Sobriety checkpoints were created on the grounds outside the festival, and they set up special areas within the festival itself to allow festival goers to check their blood alcohol content. Attendees simply had to visit the Sheriff’s Department booth and blow into hand-held breath testers for an immediate BAC reading.

The response from attendees was positive, giving them an opportunity to check their level of intoxication and help them moderate their wine intake.

Have you been arrested for driving while intoxicated in New York?