Some of the best vineyards in Europe had been devastated, and wine shipments had virtually come to a halt.

An additional 15 states currently prohibit all direct-to-consumer wine shipments.

Domestic wine shipments were down 1.5 percent, to 147.4 million cases while imports fell 8.7 percent to 25.8 million cases.

Nine other states allow interstate wine shipments only on purchases made on-site at a winery by the state's residents.

Imported wine shipments, which were off 9 percent in 1993, showed an 11 percent increase last year, Mr. Fredrikson said.

The wine shipments from Gaul arrived by ship and were seized upon thirstily by the citizens.

A companion Impact study devoted exclusively to the wine market reported that total wine shipments to distributors in America fell 5.5 percent in 1986.

French wine shipments last year were up 63 percent over 1980, giving them almost 30 percent of the entire imported wine market.

Wine distributors and others opposing direct sales from out of state have kept silent about wine shipments within state borders.

As things stand, wine shipments are governed by a tangle of state laws, observed by some in the trade, largely ignored by others.