It has been a busy week for wine executives. First Amazon withdrew from the online wine sales marketplace and then both FedEx and UPS declared they would only allow retailers to ship wine to consumers in the 14 states – and Washington DC –that officially permit interstate commerce.

The decision has been long brewing, is not surprising and is likely to be problematic for many wine shops with a wide geographical net. The decision is tied to what is believed to be a misinterpretation of the historic 2005 Granholm vs. Heald case, which determined that in-state wineries' having the right to ship wine directly to consumers when out-of-state wineries could not do the same was unconstitutional.

Tom Wark, the Napa-based executive director of the 60-member National Association of Wine Retailers, notes that the court upheld the right of out-of-state entities to ship wine to consumers who could receive wine from in-state entities. According to Wark, this right to ship into these states was erroneously applied to wineries only – that will not be impacted by these new restrictions – as opposed to the retailers who wanted to do the same.