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Appellation America Celebrates the Day Wine Lovers Were Liberated

Appellation America, the leading Internet Wine Portal, will be celebrating on May 15 as though it were a national holiday. The date represents the second anniversary of the most important wine-related legal decision in American history: Granholm v. Heald.



Issued in 2005, Granholm v. Heald laid the groundwork for a new era of consumer access to wine and, in particular, gave great hope to small wineries across the country that they would be able to reach a larger market of wine lovers. Previously, most of the nation'ss wine enthusiasts had been systematically blocked from reaching into the rich diversity of wines that hail from states across the country.



Despite continued attempts by wine wholesalers to block access to wine and close off markets to direct-to-consumer sales, the Granholm v. Heald Supreme Court decision changed the playing field for consumer access to wine, notes Appellation America Publisher, Roger Dial. This decision has allowed Appellation America to confidently embark on creating an on-line wine eBrokerage that delivers access to wines from states across the country.



An article updating the landscape for shipping wine direct to consumers in America has been written by Appellation America'ss own Ray and Eleanor Heald, regional correspondents for Michigan coverage, who are none other than the named (heroic) party in the landmark 2005 Supreme Court case, Granholm V. Heald.



The Healds see the landscape changed and generally positive since the 2005 ruling. Indeed, over these two years, the winners in Granholm v. Heald are many, despite the end run around the Supreme Court decision being attempted in some states by a new wholesaler approach which is aimed at regaining its cartel dominance and restricting consumer choice in wine purchases.



The market opportunities that have arrived since the Granholm decision are particularly important to thousands of dedicated small wineries located in emerging wine states such as Illinois, Michigan, Virginia, and Texas. Indeed, there are wineries in virtually every state that have been enabled by Granholm. Because the wines from these states are rarely exported into the distribution chains of other states, Internet sales directly to consumers are critical to reaching a larger market.



Without the Granholm decision it'ss unlikely that the Appellation America eBrokerage, directly linking tens of thousands of wine enthusiasts with our ever-expanding catalogue of partner wineries, would have been possible, observes Roger Dial. Our goal has always been to present wines from right across the country; therefore opening up each new state to consumer direct shipping, both IN and OUT, has been crucial to our success.



Today, 37+ states allow one form or another of winery-to-consumer direct shipments. A recent study by VinQuest showed the value of winery-to-consumer sales in 2006 to be at $2.4 million, up a whopping 58% over 2005. We'sre seeing the future, says Dial, and, let me tell you, it looks real good for consumers and the wine industry, coast-to-coast.



About Appellation America

Founded in 2003, Appellation America redefined online wine journalism with its constantly updated, content deep on-line portal that now delivers over 15,000 pages of information on the North American wine culture. In summer 2006, Appellation America introduced its Online Wine Store offering access to 20 wineries. Today more than 125 wineries across the country have signed on to the Appellation America wine store, presenting wines to 100,000+ monthly visitors at the AppellationAmerica.com site: appellationamerica.com

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