Cheers: Vanessa Oliver measure to loosen wine keg regulations headed to House floor

A bill to nix current law requiring “reusable” kegs for wine producers is now heading to the full House for a vote.

The House Commerce Committee heard the proposal (HB 6015) that would remove some limits for wineries in Florida. The committee voted unanimously in favor of the measure with little discussion.

Rep. Vanessa Oliver, a Port Charlotte Republican, filed the measure to end the requirements that wine producers use “reusable” kegs.

“It is unlawful for a person to sell within this state wine in an individual container holding more than 1 gallon of such wine, unless such wine is in a reusable container holding 5.16 gallons or a glass container holding 4.5 liters, 6 liters, 17.9 liters, 12 liters, or 15 liters,” the current law reads.

Oliver’s measure simply seeks to remove that one word, “reusable,” from the statute that was enacted about a decade ago.

The House bill is mirrored by a similar measure (SB 578) winding through the Senate. The bill in that chamber is sponsored by Sen. Tom Leek, a St. Augustine Republican representing coastal areas just north of Daytona into St. Johns County.

Oliver said it may seem like a small adjustment. But for winemakers in Florida, it’s an essential change and can make a difference in taste of the final product.

“This was actually brought to me by one of my constituents who is a blueberry farmer in DeSoto County,” Oliver said in a Florida Politics interview in February. “He is part owner of a winery and they make blueberry wine out of his blueberries and sell it throughout the Southeastern United States.”

The problem for the blueberry farmer is they cannot distribute the wine in large quantities in Florida because it can only be sold in reusable kegs, which are usually made of metal. Oliver said that negatively impacts the taste of the wine.

“It’s really hindering their ability to sell their products to restaurants in our state,” Oliver said. “They normally use a glass keg that’s recyclable, but not reusable.”

While Florida will never be known as a wine region like other states such as California or Washington, there are still about three dozen wine producers in the Sunshine State, according to the American Winery Guide.

Oliver’s proposal doesn’t change the size of the kegs that are permitted or the size of any container for wine sales. The proposed change would not eliminate “reusable” kegs. But it would make them optional and Oliver says the glass kegs are simply better for the taste of the product.