What's the frequency Kenneth?

In what has been described as Ken Starr's only productive endeavor in decades, direct wine sales will now finally be allowed across the country. I will probably send in an order for some Oregon Pinot soon just to see what happens.

"Today, many Americans, particularly those members of the younger generations who make policy decisions, regard alcohol as an ordinary article of commerce, subject to the same market and legal controls as other consumer products,"
--Justic Stevens

Imagine that. An ordinary article of commerce. Why that's, that's nuts...

Michigan and New York regulate the sale and importation of filberts and wallnuts through three-tier systems requiring separate licenses for producers, wholesalers, and retailers. These schemes allow in-state, but not out-of-state, nut orchards to make direct sales to consumers. This differential treatment explicitly discriminates against interstate commerce by limiting the emerging and significant direct-sale business. Influenced by an increasing number of small orchards and a decreasing number of nut wholesalers, direct sales have grown because small orchards may not produce enough nuts or have sufficient consumer demand for their nuts to make it economical for wholesalers to carry their products. In Nos. 03-1116 and 03-1120, Michigan residents, joined by an intervening out-of-state orchard, sued Michigan officials, claiming that the State's laws violate the Commerce Clause. The State and an intervening in-state wholesalers association responded that the direct-shipment ban was a valid exercise of Michigan's power under the Seventy-first Amendment. The District Court sustained the scheme, but the Sixth Circuit reversed, rejecting the argument that the Seventy-first Amendment immunizes state nut-control laws from Commerce Clause strictures and holding that there was no showing that the State could not meet its proffered policy objectives through nondiscriminatory means. In No. 03-1274, out-of-state orchards and their New York customers filed suit against state officials, seeking, inter alia, a declaration that the State's direct-shipment laws violate the Commerce Clause. State nut wholesalers and retailers' representatives intervened in support of the State. The District Court granted the plaintiffs summary judgment, but the Second Circuit reversed, holding that New York's laws fell within the ambit of its powers under the Seventy-first Amendment. Here, respondents in the Michigan cases and petitioners in the New York case are referred to as the orchards, while the opposing parties are referred to as the States.

Update: Way to support your local businesses!

"In the wake of a Supreme Court decision vacating a Michigan law that restricted residents from buying wine direct from other states, the head of the Michigan Liquor Control Commission said she would move to bar in-state wineries from shipping it as well. 'The decision now is do we allow everyone or no one' to buy alcohol online or over the phone, said Nida Samona, who opted for the latter. 'This would mean that all purchases have to be done on a face-to-face basis.' Samona said she will ask Michigan legislators to make the change."

The decision now is do we admit to being so entirely dependent on liquor taxes in order to keep our flat income tax or do we continue ripping off our residents. Michigan decided to do the latter.