The US Senator, Chuck Schumer on a trip to the Finger Lakes, recently spoke to the media about the  Federal Tax and Trade Bureau - TTB. 

“The TTB is leaving New York’s wine industry hanging on the vine, with out-dated rules and restrictions stopping it from reaching its potential. As canned wine continues to become more and more popular, there’s just no good reason why wine producers shouldn’t be able to capitalize and sell their products in the most popular-sized cans, especially when studies have shown that lifting these unnecessary restrictions would lead to even further economic growth,” Schumer said. 

The Senator didn’t give a detailed overview of the subject, but he might be referring to the findings at Texas Tech University - Texas Wine Marketing Research Institute. In a study shown by the university about the growth in the wine-in-a-can-market, 250 ml size is the most preferred wine can size by the consumers. 

You can read more about the research in their “Growth of the Wine-In-A-Can Market” article. 

Beer is allowed to be sold in cans of any size, according to the TTB regulations. Also, they can be sold individually. The malt beverages - including cocktails, are subjected to no restrictions regarding size or individual sales. However, canned wine - must only be packaged either in 187ml or 375 ml. Also, canned wine can’t be sold individually. It must only be sold as a pack that equals a total of either 500 or 1000 ml.

According to John Hinman, who writes for the specialized alcohol industry legal firm - Hinman and Carmichael, LLP - there are number of reasons TTB should be thinking on a rules change. 

Hinman said, “The last time the Standards of Fill for Wine were updated was in 1990 when the 500 ml size was added,” for bottles.

The reasons he listed included - 250 ml encourages temperate consumption; ease of can use; studies have demonstrated consumer support for 250 ml can for wine; the rules change give wineries the chance to compete fairly with malt beverages; significant technological growth in canning technology; it's been a long time since the 500 ml rules change, a change now is to keep pace with the market for wine in cans; and, the United States is the only country in which a winery may not sell a 250 ml can as a single, individual purchase.  

This is the time for a change in the canned packaging rules for wine, and TTB wants to hear the desired sizes from the consumers themselves. The comments for your preferred size can be made on their website.