by Dr. Brent Haggard
Numerous lawsuits have been filed in American courts over the past year, with producers and consumers attacking state laws that limit direct wine sales. Many new cases arise from the Supreme Court decision in 2005, which ruled that state laws in
New York State and Michigan discriminated against out-of-state wineries by permitting only in-state wineries to ship straight to consumers. Such legal conflicts arise because the Constitution requires states not to discriminate against one another economically, but allows them to regulate sales of alcoholic beverages. State laws, the court stated, must present a level playing field.
Many states altered their laws to give the appearance of an equal economic opportunity for out-of-state wineries, while imposing regulatory burdens to ensure that it wouldn\'t happen. Some lawsuits challenge legal mandates that customers must buy wine in person. In other suits, producers are attacking shipping limits that are linked to the volume of their production, essentially protecting smaller domestic wineries. In each case, out-of-state producers are accusing states of discriminating against them.
