More Wineries Go To Court

Jon alerted me to this post on Free Will:

Free the Grapes

At last, the Supreme Court is going to hear arguments on interstate wine sales.

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear cases on Tuesday on whether small California wineries, such as the Agua Dulce Vineyards north of Santa Clarita, can sell their products to the national market over the Internet, a practice that is banned in several states.

"California wineries, particularly smaller family-run operations, should be able to ship their product directly to customers in all states," said K. Lloyd Billingsley, editorial director of the Pacific Research Institute and author of the new report "Wine Wars: Defending E-Commerce and Direct Shipment in the National Wine Market."

"Twenty-four states prohibit direct shipments of wine," he said. "The trend is toward direct shipping and the high court should recognize that current reciprocity arrangements could simply be extended to all states."

As with the last report on wineries appealing against archaic and illogical restrictions, I hope that the court sees fit to restore rationality to the market.