Wilton Simpson and Frank Artiles Introduce Bill to Allow Sale of Wine in Larger Containers

Florida law currently bans the sale of wine in containers holding more than one 1 gallon, but a new bill introduced in the House and Senate byWilton Simpson, R-Trilby, and Rep. Frank Artiles, R- Miami, would increase that limit to 6 gallons.

This legislation [SB 658, HB 623] would simply remove antiquated red tape that arbitrarily limits wine container sizes in Florida, Simpson said in a press release. By updating these statutes, which were written just after the Prohibition era, the Legislature would effectively allow Florida's hospitality industry to proceed with custom tailored wine by the glass programs through innovative new methods and with technology manufactured within my district.

Wine canisters are an environmentally-friendly concept that will result in Florida-based manufacturing jobs, allow Florida's restaurants to reduce waste and streamline services, said Artiles. Nationally, over 100 distributors distribute wine canisters in 36 states. In fact, Texas and Pennsylvania have recently updated laws to allow wine canisters.

By removing these outdated regulations, the Legislature will effectively allow us to grow our Brooksville-based manufacturing business while providing the Sunshine States hospitality industry with more latitude," said John Soler, managing director of Micro-Matic."We believe this sustainable concept will be very popular in Florida and allow us to continue expanding our workforce and footprint in the state, while meeting consumer demand."