Amazon.com, which launched an online wine business late last year, had a booth at the Oregon Wine Industry Symposium Feb. 19-20 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland that drew a record crowd of 1,500 attendees.
Large, mid-size and small wine producers pay Amazon 15 percent of sales and more to market wine that the winery then ships to customers.
Del Rio Vineyards, which makes pinot noir, claret and pinot gris from 205 acres of vineyards in Gold Hill, was one of the first to sign on to Amazon's program. Winery marketing manager Lindsey Zagar said she hopes to boost the label's national visibility and have online sales beyond the winery's website.
Marilyn Hawkins, an Ashland-based marketing professional and new wine producer who sells $10 bottles of Late Bloomer gewürztraminer through house parties, attended a seminar on direct sales in which one of the speakers was Eddie Black, Amazon Wine's sales manager.
"If a winery can't sell everything through a tasting room, wine club or retailers, it might be worth taking a look at Amazon and paying their fees," said Hawkins.
Read the complete story in the Ashland Daily Tidings' http://www.dailytidings.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130226/NEWS02/302260304
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