State should drop ban on direct wine shipments

Is it about protecting kids from alcohol?

Or is it really about protecting the beer and wine wholesalers -- whose political action committee spread around $683,000 to those seeking election, mostly incumbents, last year -- from competition from Michigan's small wineries?

We think it is the latter.

And we urge the state Legislature to think about the damage that small wineries, many of them in Southwest Michigan, would suffer if the state prohibits them from shipping wine directly to Michigan customers.

In May, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Michigan's and New York's ban on direct-to-consumer shipments of wine from out-of-state wineries were violations of the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause, which gives Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce.

The high court found that because Michigan allows direct-to-consumer shipments from in-state wineries to Michigan customers, it illegally discriminated against out-of-state wineries.

To get into compliance with the Supreme Court ruling, Michigan had the choice of allowing out-of-state wineries to ship directly to Michigan consumers or making it illegal for Michigan wineries to make direct shipments to anyone.

Wine lovers and Michigan wineries had hoped the state would choose to end the ban. Instead, the Legislature is contemplating extending the ban to all wineries. In fact, the House Regulatory Reform Committee moved to the full House a complete direct-to-consumer ban.

Forcing small wineries to sell through wholesalers would be devastating to many.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm originally supported widening the ban. Fortunately, she has been convinced that it would be a bad move for wineries and won't put more alcohol into the glasses of underage drinkers, who generally prefer a brewski to an unpretentious and insouciant varietal with berry notes and a clean finish.

We hope state lawmakers, despite wads of cash they've received from the Beer and Wine Wholesalers PAC, will see the light as well.