US wine distributors in legal fight to open nationwide shipping

Four new legal cases are filed to force open US interstate shipments rules after US Supreme Court ruled outlawing discrimination in wine shipping last month.

The lawsuits filed in Indiana, Kentucky, New Jersey and Texas are to allow wine shops to ship to customers in those states even when the shops are located in another state.

The US byzantine wine system came about at the end of prohibition. As part of the agreement to end prohibition it was agreed that alcohol could not be shipped between different states, effectively leaving each state to create their own rules.

Over time this agreement has been watered down, and last month the US Supreme Court made a decision in Tennessee Wine & Spirits Retailers Association v Thomas. In that case, the Supreme Court said that states must treat in-state and out-of-state alcohol businesses the same.