There has been a surge in the value of wine websites following the Supreme Court ruling regarding interstate shipment of wines. The impact of the 2005 ruling still has not been entirely sorted out on a state-by-state basis, but there is little doubt that in the long run, it will open the way for direct-to-consumer shipments. This will serve to give direct sale websites more value.

Since December of 2005, web domains such as cabernetsauvignon.com, redwines.com and organicwine.com have greatly increased in value, according to the website, winedomains.com.

Chris Campbell, who monitors trends for winedomains.com, told decanter.com, "As more states open their doors with this Supreme Court ruling, more wineries and wine retailers will migrate to the internet to do business. From what I have experienced since 1999, wine domain prices have only recently started an aggressive move upwards."

Campbell said there was a shortage of quality wine domains at the same time that the global wine industry is expanding. The most expensive wine web domain ever is wine.com, which sold for a reported US $2.9m in 1999.

Information courtesy of Wines and Vines