qm_fall_2015

12 / 32

Virginia C apitol C onnections, Fall 2015
12
These regulations mean that Virginia’s more than 20 distilleries,
including the recently reopened distillery at historic Mount Vernon,
are denied opportunities to attract visitors to sample their products
and connect with their brands.
Virginia wineries attract more than 1.5 million visitors a year,
helping them generate more than $750 million in annual economic
impact. Distilleries in the Commonwealth, however, face far more
restrictive regulations that stand in the way of hosting events and
allowing visitors to experience their products.
At a winery, a visitor can tour the facility, sample every product
the winery produces, and purchase a bottle to enjoy on-premises.
Current policy set to go into effect in 2018 would limit distillery
visitors to sampling just 2 total ounces and prohibit them from
ordering a full cocktail, as most people enjoy their distilled spirits.
We propose raising the sampling limit at distilleries to at least
3.0 ounces, which would be the alcohol content equivalent of just
two glasses of wine or two bottles of beer. We would also eliminate
the regulation that prevents a visitor from sampling the distillery’s
product as part of a full cocktail.
Virginia has gained recognition as a culinary destination with
award-winning craft products, which has helped drive a 4.1 percent
increase in tourism from 2013 to 2014. Tourism supports 216,900
jobs in Virginia, according to the most recent reports.
Demand for craft spirits has exploded nationally and Virginia’s
distilleries, in spite of regulatory challenges, are producing award-
winning have seen the effect that legislation expanding
on-site sampling had on Virginia’s thriving craft beer and wine
industries. The General Assembly has an opportunity to level the
playing field for all craft beverage producers and to spark growth in
an industry where Virginia once led the nation.
For more information regarding the proposed amendments
to the Virginia Code regulating distilleries, and our request for a
resolution proclaiming July 2016 as “Virginia Craft Spirits” month,
please visit our website: .
This three-part set of legislative proposals stitches together
summaries of the three Emerging Leaders Program groups whose
legislative policy projects were judged by Delegate Alfonso Lopez,
state Sen. Bryce Reeves, David Bailey and Bob Gibson on August
23 at Montpelier.
Sorensen policy projects are created by groups whose members
research a public policy issue and consider ways to improve the lives
of ordinary Virginians. The groups include people from different
regions of the state and differing philosophies. They come together
to research and draft a bill for the Virginia General Assembly to
consider to improve policy in some way. This year’s Emerging
Leaders Program class met from late July to Aug. 23 and developed
proposals to improve policy in the areas of economic development,
education and agriculture and tourism. Here are short summaries of
their proposals.
Distilleries:
Agriculture and Tourism
In 1799, Virginia boasted the largest distillery in the nation,
producing about 11,000 gallons of whiskey a year. The distillery
was located at George Washington’s Mount Vernon Plantation in
Northern Virginia.
Today, Virginia is better known for quality wines and was
recognized as one of the top 10 wine travel destinations in the world
for 2012 by Wine Enthusiast Magazine. It is also known for craft
beer, an industry that has exploded from a handful of breweries only
a few years ago to more than 100 today.
Virginia’s 260 wineries and 125 breweries can attribute part
of their success to recent changes in state law that allow them to
market and serve their products directly to consumers on-site.
Nationally, craft distilleries have proliferated from 234 in
2011 to 580 in 2014, and their ranks are estimated to surpass
1,000 nationwide by 2018. In Virginia, however, this once thriving
industry has found itself singled out for burdensome regulations
that do not apply to producers in the wine and beer industries.
Class of 2015 Emerging Leaders Program graduates (left to right) Lauren Marshall, Terrell Kingwood, Julie Kinzer, Lindsey Watson, Leslie Frazier, Dadly Cordero,
Diana Trinh, Eric Bateman, Jennifer Bowles, Paul Davis, Khaki LaRiviere, Chris Atkins, Cameron Sasnett, Matthew Shapiro, Ryan Ramirez, Joe Dillard, Jr.,
Ashton Fallen, Sarah McCoy, Bethal Abraham, Rachel Dyer, Jediah Jones, Paul Logan and Lesley Shinbaum.
Sorensen Institute’s
Emerging Leaders groups propose policy changes for Virginia