Judge strikes down ban on shipping wine to Texans  By ROSANNA RUIZ  Houston Chronicle - A judge's ruling brings University of Houston political scientist Richard Murray a couple of steps closer to sipping what he calls "nature's great gift to the world" without having to retreat to his home in California's wine country. Laying aside recent rulings to the contrary, U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon on Wednesday decided that Texas' ban on the direct import of out-of-state wine to individual consumers is unconstitutional. In Texas, as in a number of other states, outside wine producers have to rely on in-state distributors to get their product to market. Consequently, Texans are prevented by law from ordering up as many crates as their grape-loving hearts desire from out-of-state companies.  Three Houston wine collectors challenged that law through a federal lawsuit they filed against the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission in 1999. Harmon ruled in the residents' favor in 2000, but after legislative tinkering in this state and recent rulings in other states, she granted a motion allowing both sides to reassert their positions. She reaffirmed her prior ruling in a 47-page order that explored the recent cases in which courts in Florida, Indiana and Michigan upheld the prohibition of direct shipments from out-of-state sellers. Harmon wrote that "unlike the situation in Indiana, Michigan and Florida, this court cannot ignore the fact that Texas now ranks fifth among the states in wine production." She sided with the plaintiffs who argued that a recent Texas law that allows Texas wineries to ship wine directly to the state's consumers amounts to "economic protectionism" by not letting out-of-state companies do the same.  The law, she wrote, "explicitly reflects a protective concern for the burgeoning wine industry in Texas and the Legislature's hope that vintners in Texas will soon be able to compete with established wine growers in California, New York, Washington, Oregon and Europe." But Murray and the attorney for the three men know better than to break out the champagne just yet. The case likely will be appealed and may end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. "Private individuals are interested in being able to collect wines or travel to California and be able to order wine and have it shipped to their homes -- none of which they can do under the present statute," said  Mark C. Harwell, an attorney for C.A. Dickerson, Roland R. Pennington and David Vukovic. A spokesman for the Texas Attorney General's office said that an attorney involved with the case was still reviewing the order and had not yet made a decision about the next legal step. David Miller, president of the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association, said the ruling leaves him uncertain about what the effect will be on the Texas markets once a final decision is made. He said perhaps Texas wineries could pick up "niche" vintners unable to find a distributor for their wines. He said he would have to wait out further court action.  Bill Nelson, vice president of the American Vintners Association, based in Washington, D.C., had a more certain response when he heard of the decision. "Cool," Nelson said. "The Constitution exists so that you can not discriminate in favor of in-state businesses. There is no reason that kind of discrimination should be allowed for wine; it's not allowed for every other product."  Joseph Rydman, owner of Spec's Liquor Warehouse, said he was surprised by Harmon's ruling, given recent decisions that sided with state's ability to control the market. "The 21st Amendment gives states the right to say who alcohol can be sold to; if they want to change the 21st Amendment I guess they can do that," he said. Rydman said he was concerned that any change in the law would give minors greater access to buy alcohol. Murray scoffs at that notion. "Their story that we'll have 18-year-olds ordering cases of Dom Perignon is one of the most thinly disguised arguments I've heard," he said. Do you have any questions, comments or suggestions? Email: jwdineline@aol.com Copyright © 1998 Inter Active Media Solutions. All Rights Reserved. The interactive components of this site require that you use a current browser version of Explorer; be sure to maximize your window out so you can see the entire page. This page was created by Inter Active Media Solutions.