Researcher: DC Page 1 3/27/25
OLR Bill Analysis
HB 5361
AN ACT CONCERNING THE SOURCE OF THE FRUIT USED BY
FARM WINERY PERMITTEES TO MANUFACTURE WINE.
SUMMARY
This bill reduces, from 25% to 20%, the minimum average crop
requirement of the fruit that a farm winery permittee must grow on land
he or she controls and uses in manufacturing their wine.
Under existing law, an “average crop” is defined each year as the
average yield of the permittee’s two largest annual crops out of the
preceding five years. But during the first seven years after a farm winery
permit is issued, the average crop is calculated as three tons of grapes
for each vineyard acre farmed, which is usually a lower threshold.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2025
COMMITTEE ACTION
General Law Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 22 Nay 0 (03/12/2025)