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A change in Iowa’s wine shipping laws has resulted in the dismissal of a lawsuit claiming that the state discriminated against out-of-state wineries and Iowa consumers who favored their wines.

The lawsuit was filed in January on behalf of a Missouri winery and three Iowans who said state law prevented them from having wine shipped to their homes, in violation of the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Robert Epstein, an Indiana lawyer who has played a leading role across the country in challenging state laws that prevent direct shipments of wine to retail customers across state lines, said at the time he filed the lawsuit that it would be dismissed if Iowa changed its law. The lawsuit was dismissed May 3.

A law that takes effect July 1 will allow out-of-state wineries to ship their product directly to Iowa consumers. The law was part of a government overhaul bill that lawmakers were negotiating at the time the lawsuit was filed.

Under the legislation, out-of-state wineries must purchase an annual $25 permit and pay a $1.75 per gallon tax. Wine shipments are limited to 18 liters of wine a month to each customer.

A bill has been introduced in Congress that would ban direct shipments of wine from producers to consumers. The proposed legislation is in reaction to a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said states have the right to regulate the distribution of alcoholic beverages, with the exception of limiting direct shipments of wine from out-of-state producers.

Epstein argued the case on behalf of proponents of direct shipping.