Bills would hurt wine consumers

Once again, our freedom to purchase the wine of our choosing is facing a serious threat from the Florida Legislature, where bills have been introduced that would severely impact the shipment of wine. The bills, HB 837 and SB 854, are identical. If passed, these bills will make it much more tedious and expensive for wineries to directly ship their products to individuals in Florida.

According to the language of these bills, the intent is to require strict regulation of winery shippers “in order to promote temperance by discouraging consumption by underage persons and abusive consumption by adults.”

While the bills’ licensing fee of $250 is not prohibitive, they require that wineries file a monthly report with the state, noting whether or not any wine was shipped, the quantity and brands that were shipped, and, the total price of each shipment.

The bills prohibit a winery that produces or sells more than 250,000 gallons per year -- which in terms of wine bottles is a little more than 105,000 cases -- from any direct shipping whatsoever. Many wineries that have production above this quantity make a number of wines that are only available at the winery, so these wines would never be available in Florida.

What is truly disturbing from a personal privacy perspective, the winery would be required to maintain for inspection by state agencies “a record of all wines ordered, sold, and shipped to residents of this state, including the name, address, and date of birth of the purchaser; the name and address of the person to whom the wine is shipped; and the date of shipment, quantity, and brands of wine shipped.”

Prior to 2005, Florida residents were unable to receive direct shipments from out-of-state wineries. This changed due to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the Commerce Clause of the Constitution prohibited states from passing laws that treat in-state wineries different from out-of-state wineries. The ruling expressly dismissed the concerns about underage individuals being able to purchase wine over the Internet.

In addition, wine that I have had delivered has a large sticker stating that the package contains ALCOHOL and that delivery requires an adult signature, as well as an ID check because the recipient must be at least 21 years of age.

The concerns about excess drinking are really confusing. As you drive down the road, take a look at all of the stores and other establishments that sell and serve alcoholic beverages. Clearly, it is much quicker to purchase wine locally than to wait for it to be delivered from out of the state.

The bottom line is that the direct shipment from a winery takes money out of the pockets of the distributor or wholesaler.

These distributors lobby every year for laws that would prohibit or hinder the ability to ship into the state.

With more than 6,000 wineries in this country, only a small percentage of the wines that are produced ever make their way to Florida by way of distributors. The proposed bills hurts not only the wineries, it hurts the consumer as well.