Kentucky winemakers are asking state lawmakers for approval to use waste products like grapes, stems, and seeds to make fortified wine.
The Kentucky House easily approved the measure Monday and sent it on to the Senate. Kentucky Winery Association Treasurer Eddie O'Daniel says the bill would help wineries and vineyards recover lost money. "Many times the vineyards in Kentucky, because of erratic weather conditions, the grapes are not the highest quality,” said O’Daniel. “Up to now, they've had to just waste the fruit."
Fortified wine is a wine that has additional manufactured alcohol added to it, most commonly, brandy. O'Daniel says the end product would not be sold in stores. "The brandy that we make is not gonna be offered as a standalone product at retailers or distributors,” he said. “We'll have to mix it in with other wines and we'll only sell it at our wineries, at the retail premises."
O'Daniel says about 5 to 10 percent of the wine produced in the state does not make it into stores. He says the industry has grown substantially over the last decade or so. O'Daniel says there were about four wineries in Kentucky in 2000, compared to today, he says more than 70 wineries are found throughout the Commonwealth. ?
