Terry Hall, communications director of the non-profit Napa Valley Vintners, said the Seattle based Company will start selling wine at the end of September or the beginning of October from about 26 states. Napa Valley Vintners, which has 315 members, is holding workshops for its members in conjunction with Amazon to learn about selling wines through the portal, Terry said.
Amazon's plans were reported by Reuters a couple of days ago. However, the company has refused to comment so far. Started as an online bookseller, Amazon is trying to become a one-stop shop on the Web for multiple products, from digital music to gourmet food to automobile parts reports Wall Street Journal.
"It's a very exciting time," Mr. Hall said. "The world's largest online retailer is saying that wine is important. That's very exciting for American consumers."
Amazon has been working on selling wine through its website for some time, Mr. Hall said. The online retailer will be working with New Vine Logistics, a Napa-based company that handles wine fulfillment, to ship to various states, he said.
US being a Federal Republic has its share of complex regulations governing the shipment of wine from state-to-state, complicating inter-state distribution. In a progressive movement, the 2005 Supreme Court ruling struck down bans on out-of-state wine shipment in New York and Michigan, making it easier for wineries to sell directly to consumers.
Industry insiders hail it as the most important and revolutionary decision since the Prohibition was lifted in the US in 1933.
In India online wine sale is illegal. So is advertising for wine, beer or liquor. However, just as surrogate advertising exists aplenty, a few wine marketing companies manage the sales online through a quasi legal procedure, though we are light years away from making it legal to sell through portals like shopping.indiatimes.com.
But then, who would have thought that the Berlin wall would ever come down? Or that the Indians would be buying out mega corporations like Arcelors and Jaguars of the West? |