Lots of Wine Drinkers in Florida

Filed in archive California Wines , Wine News on April 26, 2006

As a Floridian, I could help but be surprised that our little ol' state is "the nation's second-largest wine market." No wonder California wants in on this gig. My wine club is located in Naples, Florida, but I wouldn't mind opening up the wine market to other states.

More from CBS4.com:

A proposal is being negotiated to allow only wineries that produce less than 250,000 gallons of wine a year to offer direct deliveries; leaving larger wineries to operate through their in-state distributors.

One side are Florida's retailers, distributors and in-state wineries have long controlled the market, along with a coalition of law enforcement, religious and civic groups concerned about underage drinking.

The other side is led by the California wine industry, for which direct shipping offers another avenue into Florida, the nation's second-largest wine market.