Amazon Wines is no more

You can expect the Amazon Wines to shut down by the end of this year. The giant retailer has sent an email to all the wine sellers alerting that the wine delivery will be closing soon. The Amazon Wine was a boom in 2012. Buyers had access to hundreds of wines that could be ordered directly from the winery through Amazon.

In the email sent to the sellers, Amazon said, “Dear valued Seller, 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 on December 31st, 2017. Wine will continue to be offered through Amazon Fresh, Prime Now and Whole Foods Markets. Please see our FAQ for further details.”

It’s the Law

The entire closing issue popped up due to the existing laws regarding the sale of alcohol. These laws have made it difficult for Amazon to sell alcohol as a retailer and operate a marketplace. 

Amazon said in a statement, “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 on December 31st, 2017. Wine will continue to be offered through Amazon Fresh, Prime Now and Whole Foods Markets.”

This makes it clear that Amazon indeed wishes to continue selling alcohol through Amazon Fresh and Prime. You can add Whole Foods to the list now!