Circuit Court Rules that Massachusett’s Wine Shipping Law Is Discriminatory

The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston this week ruled in favor of the winery plaintiffs in Family Winemakers of California (FWC) v. Jenkins, the Massachusetts Direct-to-Consumer Shipping case. Wine Institute coordinated and filed an amicus brief in this case last summer, authored by Harvard Law School professor Bruce Hay. The Institute also provided financial support to the trial court effort. This case warranted support because of the important precedents being set dealing with discriminatory capacity caps and exclusions for wineries using wholesalers.

The press release from FWC outlines the details of the ruling and includes comments from the successful legal team. Wine Institute’s legislative team is already at work in Massachusetts to pass a workable Direct-to-Consumer permit bill that will allow all winery members to make legal shipments that can be delivered to their Massachusetts customers.