Wine shipments

The (Rock Hill, S.C.) Herald

Last week's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down some states' rules against direct shipments of wine from the winery to the customer was cheered as a victory for wine lovers everywhere. ...

But the ruling does address the unfairness of giving in-state vintners an advantage over out-of-state competitors.

The goal of the majority in this case was, in effect, to level the field. If states are going to allow some direct shipments from winery to customer, everyone must play by the same rules. ...

Some critics argue that loosening the restrictions on out-of-state shipments will make it easier for underage buyers to purchase wine.

But we doubt that many minors are going to go to the trouble and expense of trying to buy out-of-state wine when they can buy beer with a fake ID at the corner stop-and-shop.

What this ruling will accomplish is to allow many wine lovers to buy directly from small wineries in other states that don't have big marketing budgets and don't ship their wine to retailers nationwide.

For that, we raise a toast to the majority on the court.