He is an agent for classical music artists and a dedicated wine collector, known in Los Angeles-area wine circles as "Joe Montrachet." He buys a lot of wine locally . . . but also from retail shops in other states.

"I buy from 50 different vendors," he said recently. "It's legal, isn't it?"

In some cases, yes--for instance, when the wine is ordered from one of the 12 states that have reciprocal trade agreements with California. But otherwise, "Joe Montrachet" is breaking the law.

"I am?" he asked, incredulous. After a moment, he added, "So who's gonna arrest me?"

Probably no one. Most authorities believe that such shipments are nearly impossible to intercept, so they generally don't pay much attention. And since few people know it's illegal to ship (or even carry) wine across state lines unless it's to a reciprocal trade state, it happens routinely.

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Sonoma County winemaker Phyllis Zouzounis tells a different story. She gets many calls for her Deux Amis Zinfandel, an acclaimed wine of which she makes 1,600 cases a year. She'll ship it anywhere in California, but declines most out-of-state requests.

"If it costs me more than $200 for the license to sell in another state, I can't afford to do it," she says. "Besides, with the forms galore you have to fill out, the licenses are so expensive it doesn't make any sense for me to sell to a lot of states."

"Joe Montrachet," who asked that his real name not be used in case a zealous lawman decides to track him down, is one of thousands of Americans who unknowingly break the law by buying wine direct from wineries or shops in another state. Zouzounis is one of hundreds of small, family-run California wineries faced with a confusing web of 50 different state regulations that leaves them with a dilemma: Either turn down a sale or ship the wine illegally. Many small operators in need of cash have chosen the latter option, thus far without much risk of being caught.

"It's absolutely restraint of trade," says Sara Schorske, president of Compliance Specialists, a Sonoma County-based company that aids wineries in dealing with local, state and federal regulation of licensed beverages. "It's easier to ship overseas than to ship within the country."

Interstate wine shipments, by retailers, wineries and consumers, became a hot issue in December when New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania authorities seized about 900 cases of wine illegally shipped to warehouses in their states by a small California trucking company. The wine was headed for consumers all over the Eastern seaboard, most of it to states that have regulations against such shipments.