For the past two years Amazon.com has been developing a program that would have revolutionized wine retailing in the United States – making almost any wine available to consumers throughout the country.
Their program was designed to work directly with wineries and importers to create an "uber" wine shop. Every producer would have had their own “page,” which would fit a certain format and contain as much information as the producer chose to provide. It was an opportunity for producers to tell their stories directly to any consumer who wished to hear them.
What that means is: If you tried a wine while you were traveling in Italy, the chances were really high that you could come home and have Amazon deliver it directly to your home. Or if you fell in love with a particular wine from Oregon when you were traveling in Nevada, you could also have Amazon deliver it directly to you even if it was not otherwise available in New York State.
The best part would have been that the purchases would qualify for Amazon’s Prime program, which offers free shipping of just about anything on Amazon for a yearly fee of $79. According to meetings I have had with the Amazon wine team, you would have only had to order a minimum of two bottles at a time to quality for free shipping with the Prime program.
One of the main reasons why this program has been put on hold is the complexity of wine-shipping laws within the United States, and that fact that the major wholesalers spend millions of dollars on the state level to keep it difficult for the consumer to have access to wine they want at good prices.
What makes this all the more unfortunate is the consolidation of this same wholesale industry as the large distributors buy their competition. This creates less choice for consumers as these wholesalers only focus on the larger producers.
While 35 states permit some form of direct shipping, the laws are often convoluted. They might restrict how many bottles you can buy or require you to pick up that wine at a retail outlet.
Amazon’s program was the first major step toward offering the consumer freedom of choice while still complying with the myriad laws and restrictions on the wine trade in the United States.
A moment of silence, please…
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