This is big: Amazon.com will begin selling wines through its web site (maybe portal is a better word) in a few weeks. Reports around the blogosphere suggest that Amazon is not going to limit itself to the huge producers; this may open up opportunities for small and medium wineries.
It appears that Amazon will be able to ship to roughly 35 out of the 50 states, which is a pretty good size market. I wonder if Amazon’s Prime service, where you pay $79/year for free two-day shipping on in-stock items, will apply. If so, I think Amazon may become the largest wine retailer in the U.S.
Hat tip to Tim over at Winecast for noting this story.
Technorati Tags: wine, amazon, amazon.com
I have to admit, even though I’m an attorney and try to keep up on the issue of legally shipping wine to consumers, I get terribly confused. Here in my home state of Indiana, we lost a court battle a couple of months ago when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld a silly requirement: that there be a face-to-face transaction (so I can prove I’m of legal age) before a winery can ship to me.
An email from Bruce Gillespie reminded me that it might be helpful to all of you if I put up some resources on this topic. Please visit these sites and, where appropriate, join up.
For a great examination of the whole “we must keep minors from buying alcohol online” thing, check out an editorial from the Gary Post Tribune.
Technorati Tags: wine, wine shipping