Grape expectations.

• Position: Direct shipping petition - Brief article

Fine wines delivered to your doorstep--that's the idea of direct-to-consumer shipping. But it's an issue that has been actively litigated and legislated in recent years. The U.S. Supreme Court weighed in on the direct shipping of wine in the May 2005 Granholm v. Heald ruling. The case involved challenges to Michigan and New York laws that prohibited or severely restricted out-of-state wineries from shipping their product directly to consumers in those states. In-state wineries were allowed to ship directly.

The Court ruled that a state cannot treat in-state and out-of-state wineries differently and therefore the two laws were unconstitutional. States either had to allow both to send their product to consumers or prohibit it.

At the time of the decision...