Drew Dixon
It’s a minor modification in wording, but a bill approved by the Legislature could mean a big increase in revenue for some Florida wine producers.
The House has unanimously passed a measure stating that wine produced in Florida “may be sold in recyclable containers of a specified volume.”
Rep. Vanessa Oliver, a Port Charlotte Republican, backed the House version (HB 6015). But her chamber agreed to adopt the Senate version of the bill (SB 578), which was approved in early April.
The bill’s key component would amend a Florida law passed in 2023, now allowing wine producers in the state to use “recyclable” kegs and other containers instead of requiring “reusable” ones.
The measure drew curiosity when it moved through the committee process in both the House and Senate. Many lawmakers were intrigued by the obscure regulation. But there was no discussion during the bill’s floor hearing Tuesday, when Representatives quickly approved the bill.
The measure will next head to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Oliver said the wording change may seem minor, but for winemakers in Florida, it’s an essential modification and can make a difference in the product’s taste.
“This was actually brought to me by one of my constituents who is a blueberry farmer in DeSoto County,” Oliver told Florida Politics 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.”
That blueberry farmer under current law can’t 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.
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.
Sen. Tom Leek, a St. Augustine Republican, sponsored the legislation in his chamber and was asked during committee reviews if the measure was a move toward augmenting more boxed wine in Florida.
Leek denied that was the bill’s intent; rather, he said, the revisions would allow some wine producers to keep using the same containers over and over by instituting a “liner” inside so they could simply be reused after being emptied and replaced with a new liner.
