Did the Supreme Court case Granholm vs. Heald make it legal to ship wine?
In an opinion written by Justice Kennedy, the Court ruled that restricting the ability of out-of-state wineries to ship directly to consumers violates the U.S. Constitution dormant Commerce Clause in light of Section 2 of the 21 st amendment. “States have a broad power to regulate liquor,” he wrote. “This power, however, does not allow States to ban, or severely limit, the direct shipment of out-of-state wine while simultaneously authorizing direct shipment by in-state producers. If a state chooses to allow direct shipment of wine, it must do so on evenhanded 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 jurisprudence, these regulations cannot stand.” States must extend equal privileges to in-state and out-of-state wineries.
