Shipping Wine From State to State Gets Easier

It's been tough shipping wine across state borders. But it's getting a little easier, thanks to a U.S. Supreme Court decision in May of 2005. On May 16, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Granholm vs. Heald to support direct wine shipments from wineries and retailers to consumers. The High Court ruled that states can regulate wine shipments but cannot discriminate by treating out-of-state wine commerce (wineries and retailers) differently than in-state wine commerce. More measured voices in the wine-loving community, however, noted that little is likely to change for many Americans, particularly in the short term. The opinion addresses only the 24 states whose laws permit in-state wineries to ship wine to consumers while forbidding out-of-state producers to do so. But many states do not permit shipping wine to consumers at all, and the court's ruling does not change that.