Amazon Wine is shutting down amidst state line delivery issues

By Taylor Rock

Oct. 24, 2017 12:12 PM PT

The Daily Meal

For consumers in areas where wine stores are sparse, out-of-state orders are highly convenient. Come this year’s end, wine aficionados will no longer have access to Amazon Wine, the company’s one-stop online shop for a variety of 10,000 bottles from around the world.

“As Amazon continues to offer customers additional retail options for buying wine, we will no longer offer a marketplace for wine at this time, and Amazon Wine will close Dec. 31,” the company said in a statement, according to Wine Spectator. “Wine will continue to be offered through Amazon Fresh, Prime Now and Whole Foods Market.”

The decision to terminate wine delivery could be attributed to “tied-house” laws, which prohibit alcohol beverage retailers from profiting off other suppliers in exchange for advertising their products. When Amazon acquired Whole Foods this summer, they inherited retail alcohol licenses in multiple states - technically making them a merchant. Previously, Amazon Wine acted solely as a marketing platform and was able to collect 15-percent fees on every order through wineries’ individual licenses.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BV-pZB8H9Ac/?hl=en&tagged=amazonwineSeparately, many state lines are closing their borders to e-commerce in the wine-sphere. The New York Times reports that carriers such as United Parcel Service and FedEx will no longer accept out-of-state shipments of alcoholic beverages unless they’re addressed to one of 14 states and Washington, D.C., whose laws specifically allow it.

Many retailers believe the new regulation comes from wholesalers who heavily lobbied the idea, supported by hearty donations to state legislators and other officials. In New York State, wholesalers have contributed $2.7 million to candidates for office while retailers compare at $678,000, according to statistics obtained by The New York Times.

But, wholesalers allege that their support in the law derives from protecting consumers from fraud, threats to health, and underage drinking. But, this poses a threat to smaller businesses and wineries whose sales rely on online traffic.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZCExLuHoOh/?hl=en&tagged=amazonwine“The internet has allowed many industries to go forward, but this is sending us backward,” Grapes the Wine Company’s Daniel Posner told The New York Times.

If you live in any of these states, you can still purchase out-of-state wine: Alaska, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, and Wyoming.