CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- North Carolina's winemakers have a sour taste in their mouths over a court's ruling against state regulations meant to protect the fledgling industry from out-of-state vintners.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that it is unconstitutional for the state to allow in-state wineries to sell and ship products directly to North Carolina residents while barring direct shipments from vintners in other states.

The ruling by a three-judge panel of the court involved only direct sales to private individuals, not shipments for resale in stores.

The court said North Carolina does not have to allow the out-of-state shipments; it can remedy the constitutional violation by barring all direct shipments of wine -- including those within the state.

"We have a lot of people who visit our winery and then go home to some other place where our wine is not easily accessible," said Patricia McRitchie, who works with her husband, Sean, at Shelton Vineyards in Dobson. "If we're not able to ship it to them directly, we've lost a customer."

Jerry Douglas is senior vice president of brands for The Biltmore Company, which operates the nation's most-visited winery on the grounds of the Biltmore Estate in Asheville.

He said the ruling means not only could North Carolina wineries be barred from direct shipments in state, they could also face limits on sales to people who visit their facilities.

Specifically, guests at the Asheville winery could be barred from ordering a case of merlot or cabernet during their visit with the intent of having it delivered to their homes, he said.

The Biltmore Estate vintner, which produces about 100,000 cases of wine a year, is on the grounds of George Vanderbilt's sprawling country home, which is a major tourist attraction.

Sales made by the winery's retail shop account for about half of its total sales, which Douglas said is only a tiny sliver of the U.S. wine market.

"I doubt the people in the Napa Valley are staying awake at night worrying about us," he said.

Sean McRitchie, who manages Shelton Vineyards, said he doesn't understand why anyone would want to inhibit the flow of good wine. "This is not good," he said. "We need to move our wine. Let it go, it's just another agricultural commodity."

Oakstone Winery Inc., a small winery in Fair Play, joined several North Carolina wine enthusiasts in challenging the regulatory scheme, which was struck down last year by U.S. District Judge Graham Mullen in Charlotte.

The appeals court upheld Mullen's ruling that the laws violate the Constitution's commerce clause but ruled that he went too far in throwing out the entire scheme, not just the 1981 law that carved out a preference for in-state wineries.

Judge Paul V. Niemeyer acknowledged in the unanimous opinion that the ruling "frustrates the plaintiffs' efforts to purchase wine directly from out-of-state wineries and to ship wine directly into North Carolina."

However, he wrote that North Carolina "retains great flexibility to determine what sort of relief to provide to cure the discriminatory treatment," and state officials had indicated they preferred to strike the local preference.

More than two dozen other states have similar laws requiring that imported wines be distributed only through licensed wholesalers and retailers to ensure that taxes are paid and that alcoholic beverages are not purchased by minors by mail or over the Internet.

North Carolina ranks 10th nationally in wine production. California leads the pack, followed by Washington, New York, Pennsylvania and Oregon. North Carolina has 21 vineyards and wineries producing about 500,000 gallons of wine each year.

"If you take away the ability of North Carolina wineries to conduct business, it's going to have a chilling effect on the industry," said Patricia McRitchie.