You will soon be able to buy giant wine bottles in Florida

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WFLA) — Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Thursday that will allow Floridians to buy giant wine bottles later this year.

The governor signed House Bill 583, allowing businesses to sell wine bottles holding 4.5 liters, 6 liters, 9 liters, 12 liters, or 15 liters to Floridians.

The governor visited Wine Watch in Fort Lauderdale to sign the legislation. He was joined by Department of Business and Professional Regulation Secretary Melanie Griffin.

Previously, it was unlawful for a business to sell a bottle holding more than one gallon of wine unless it was in a reusable container. Wine distributors and manufacturers are currently allowed to sell winter to other distributors and manufacturers in any size containers.

“This legislation has been a priority for me over the past five years, because I never saw it as good public policy to criminalize the sale of wine based on the container size in the free state of Florida,” said Representative Chip LaMarca. “It allows Florida to be on the forefront of two important policy issues—economic freedom and criminal justice reform. I would like to thank all of the stakeholders through this process from Napa Valley to Tallahassee who made this a possibility. It is now time to FREE THE GRAPES!”

DeSantis said the regulation had been in place for many decades.

“In Florida, we are always looking for ways to reduce regulation and improve our residents’ quality of life,” DeSantis said. “If Floridians can purchase a large bottle of wine online from another state, they should be able to buy one from their local wine or grocery store.”

The bill will go into effect on July 1.

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