Aggressive state regulators are setting up stings, imposing fines and even trying to shut down wine-makers who serve their clients by mail orders. It has reached the point where some wineries are canceling all out-of-state shipments.

• By Sept. 15, 21 states will prohibit all direct wine shipments, and it will be a felony in Florida, Georgia and Kentucky.

• Only Nebraska and Louisiana allow shipments from any state, and another 12 have reciprocity laws which only allow shipments from other reciprocity states.

• California's 1,400 commercial wineries make more than $300 million a year in sales through direct shipments to consumers -- and the crackdown will put many small wineries that can't afford wholesale distribution out of business.

• Direct shipments are often the only way wine connoisseurs can obtain their favorite vintage, and the rise of selling over the Internet had made that process much easier.

Wine producers and their would-be customers say the laws -- which were rarely observed or enforced until recently -- were passed to favor wholesale distributors and retailers. Indeed, lobbyists for these groups have been active in persuading states to initiate the crack-down.

Winemakers hope legislators in other states will follow Louisiana's lead. This month, Louisiana law allows wineries to register for a $100 fee, pay state taxes and mail up to 60 bottles of wine a year directly to residents 21 years old or older.