House committee hears testimony on H.647 to loosen pour limits and grant wineries license parity

A Vermont House committee on Jan. 28 heard testimony on H.647, a bill that would increase permitted pour amounts in fourth-class tasting-room establishments and allow vinous manufacturers to hold a second first-class license, proponents said.

Proponents told the House Government Operations & Military Affairs committee the change would give small, often rural wineries more flexibility to host tastings, educational events and food-pairing dinners, and would help convert occasional visitors into returning customers. "The council supports this, as do I, because it will give small producers in Vermont the flexibility to responsibly showcase Vermont-grown wine in the way that works for individual wineries through tastings, education, [and] food-forward events," said David Keck, owner of Stella 14 Wines and legislative liaison for the Vermont Grape and Wine Council.

Keck described the bill in two parts. The first would increase the amount a licensee may pour in a fourth-class tasting-room establishment; the sponsors said that would allow guests to taste several beverages or receive a full pour while retaining server training and liability safeguards. Keck told the committee servers at fourth-class tasting rooms "are also required to follow all of the same training that a server/bartender in a full restaurant or bar is required [to have]" and said existing training and enforcement standards address liability concerns.

The bill's second section would create parity between wine producers and malt-beverage brewers by permitting vinous producers to hold a second first-class license in certain, contiguous situations rather than being limited to one such license under current statute. Keck said parity would let wineries operate one license at a vineyard production site and another at a separate tasting-room location in a nearby town, enabling more events and educational visits. He pointed to Shelburne Vineyards and Lincoln Peak as an example: Keck said the business was unable to obtain a first-class license at a second site despite owning production and tasting facilities there.

Committee members asked detailed questions about how pour limits differ between farmers-market permits and tasting-room licenses and whether the change would increase risk. Keck and other industry speakers clarified that farmers-market permits remain more restrictive and that the bill would change tasting-room rules specifically. A separate witness noted the multi-step process for obtaining a first-class manufacturing license requires federal approval followed by state and municipal signoffs; in the transcript that federal agency was referred to as "TTV" and the "Tobacco Trade Bureau." The federal agency responsible for labels and federal permitting is the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).

The committee paused testimony after the presentation and said it would take up the next bill later in the session. No formal vote on H.647 occurred during the hearing.

(Reporting based on committee testimony and exchanges on Jan. 28. Details such as specific pour amounts referenced in committee discussion (e.g., farmers-market pour limits) were discussed aloud in the hearing transcript and are reported as discussed; where statutory text is required for final implementation, that text will control.)