GROWLER-WINE BILL Pt 2

GROWLER-WINE BILL Pt 2

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
With today's Fruit Grower Report, I'm Bob Larson. House Bill 1039 would expand filling your wine Growler to locations off winery property.

Representative Sharon Wylie says it won't be a slam dunk, but there's a lot of things to like in her bill ...

SHARON WYLIE ... "There was hesitancy about the wine growlers initially because wine is regulated differently under federal law than beer and cider. So, there had to be some ironing out of those details before people felt comfortable adding wine to the growler factor, to let that happen. But, there's probably going to be some concern about what kind of places are going to be doing this and how they can be monitored and controlled, and it's going to be an interesting discussion."

Wylie says this would be a good for those who like to tour the state's growing list of wineries ...

SHARON WYLIE ... "Chances are, a small winery that we happened upon and we loved that bottle of wine, it won't be easy to find, even if this is liberalized, it might not be easy to find that particular wine because they might not choose to do it. But, if people want to market that way and, small wineries have wine clubs, they do a lot of things to stay alive, and if this helps them and we can come up with a bill that is satisfactory to all sides, then I say we should do it."

House Bill 1039 would allow restaurants and other non-winery establishments that are allowed to sell beer or cider in growlers to also be permitted to sell wine in growlers.

Opponents say wine growlers present quality control problems because labels won't be on the containers leaving the restaurant or grocery.

Previous ReportGROWLER-WINE BILL Pt 1
Next ReportWine Grape Acreage Grows Pt 2