This summer, Floridians will be able to celebrate the Fourth of July with a champagne bottle the size of a small child.
What was once a unique liquor sales law in Florida will no longer apply. Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill that will allow the sale of bottles of wine up to 15 liters at restaurants and liquor stores. (Yes, bottles of wine that are that large do exist). Blank Wine Bottle
Before this bill, Floridians weren't able to buy glass wine bottles larger than one gallon, except in reusable 5.16 gallon containers.
Here's a roundup of some unique Florida liquor laws you might not know about, including the law that will no longer apply this summer.
Florida statute 564.05 placed a size limit on how large a bottle of wine, sparkling wine or champagne can be.
"It is unlawful for a person to sell within this state wine in an individual container holding more than 1 gallon (or about 3.8 liters) of such wine, unless such wine is in a reusable container holding 5.16 gallons," the law says.
On Thursday, March 28, DeSantis signed House Bill 583, which will nullify Florida statute 564.05 starting Monday, July 1, 2024.
The sizes of wine bottles that are prohibited to sell in Florida until July 1 range from 1.2 gallons (6 regular bottles), to 4 gallons (20 regular bottles).
Here’s a list of of champagne bottles are not legally allowed to own in Florida until July 1, 2024:
A lesser-known Florida law allows the governor of the state and local governments to ban alcohol sales ahead of an expected hurricane.
The same statute that gives the governor power to invoke a curfew during a state of emergency also allows the governor to prohibit alcohol sales and distribution to discourage drinking while prepping for or evacuating from a hurricane.
In the same set of statutes that house the limits on the size of wine bottles, there is a section that sets rules around how to transport an already-opened bottle of wine from a restaurant.
The bottle must be re-sealed by an employee, secured in a bag or container that contains a dated receipt and can't just ride next to you in the passenger seat or roll around on the floorboard.
"If transported in a motor vehicle, the container with the resealed bottle of wine must be placed in a locked glove compartment, a locked trunk, or the area behind the last upright seat of a motor vehicle that is not equipped with a trunk," the statute says.
If your closed bottle of wine is in any other place, it can be considered an open container, which is illegal to have in your possession while in a car — even if you're not the one driving.
Hopefully it's obvious that drinking and driving is against the law, but it may be less apparent that in Florida, passengers in a car can't drink or hold alcohol either.
"It is unlawful and punishable as provided in this section for any person to possess an open container of an alcoholic beverage or consume an alcoholic beverage while seated in or on a motor vehicle that is parked or stopped within a road," Florida statute 316.1936 says.
"An open container shall be considered to be in the possession of a passenger of a vehicle if the container is in the physical control of the passenger."
The state defines an open container as a container of alcoholic beverage which is immediately capable of being consumed from, or the seal of which has been broken.
So yes, even your half-empty beer with the closed cap top is an open container. And so is the leftover bottle of wine from your favorite restaurant.
Violations are noncriminal and subject to fines.
Drunken water skiing may have been a problem in the Sunshine State at some point, because Florida lawmakers saw fit to create a statute that prohibits skiing while impaired by the effects of alcohol or marijuana.
The law, which is included in Florida's chapter of vessel safety statutes, states that "No person shall manipulate any water skis, aquaplane, or similar device from a vessel while intoxicated or under the influence of any narcotic drug, barbiturate, or marijuana, to the extent that the person’s normal faculties are impaired."
The next time you get a drunken whim to water ski, just don't.
Florida grocery stores sell beer and wine, but not liquor. Some, like Publix, Milams and Winn-Dixie sell beer and wine in-store, but sell liquor in separate, liquor-specific storefronts close to the main grocery stores that they're connected to.
Glass Alcohol Container Walmart, Target, gas stations and CVS also sell beer and wine, although gas stations predominantly sell beer.