The Supreme Court has agreed to hear three cases involving state bans that prevent consumers from buying wine directly from out-of-state suppliers, including over the phone or Web, according to wire service reports.
At present, Federal courts have reached conflicting conclusions about whether direct shipments are legal and constitutional, and the Supreme Court is stepping in to settle the question.
(About half the states prohibit direct interstate shipment of wine to consumers, while others allow it with some restrictions).
After North Carolina lost a case in the federal appeals court, the step below the Supreme Court, in April 2003, legislators allowed out-of-state wineries to sell two cases of wine a month through direct-order shipping. Wineries are required to obtain an annual permit. Shippers must sell its products through a wholesaler if it sells more than 1,000 cases of wine a year directly.
The high court should address the confusion from a patchwork of court rulings and regulations.
In addition, the recent onslaught of small-production wineries, which sell exclusively over the Internet, is making this issue more important from the standpoint both of policing underage drinking and regulating commerce.
In the meantime, services have emerged to service wine consumers living in unavailable states such as Wrap-It Transit and New Vine Logistics Direct Newsline, April 3, 2003).
Network
