Until now the position has been governed by the 21st Amendment
to the Constitution, passed in 1933. This amendment ended
Prohibition in the US, and ensured that each state was responsible
for regulation of alcohol distribution within its borders.
Some more conservative states passed rules preventing the
importing of out-of-state alcohol except to licensed wholesalers,
but the constitutionality of this position has since been
challenged, especially in those states where consumers are allowed
to purchase directly from in-state vineyards.
Two such cases, relating to the laws in Michigan and New York,
reached the Supreme Court, which yesterday released its ruling on
the issue, upholding a state's right to regulate alcohol sales and
distribution within its borders but requiring that states must also
treat all vineyards, whether in-state or out-of-state, the
same.
Delivering the 5–4 majority opinion of the Court, Justice
Kennedy explained:
"If a state chooses to allow direct shipment of wine, it must do
so on even-handed terms. Without demonstrating the need for
discrimination, New York and Michigan have enacted regulations that
disadvantage out-of-state wine producers. Under our Commerce Clause
[of the Constitution] jurisprudence, these regulations cannot
stand."
