• SeattlePI.com, Tuesday, October 27, 2009 10:48 AM

Unable to overcome a thicket of regulations, Amazon is throwing in the sommelier's bar towel on its attempt to sell wine online, Mike Ullmann reports. It originally intended to start selling wine in October 2008, and reportedly was still talking to winemakers as late as this summer.

"People have no idea how complex this is, dealing with 50 different (state) governments," says John Fredrikson, owner and publisher of the Gomberg-Fredrikson Report. "You wonder if a company like Amazon, which is well organized to sell just about anything, can't pull it off."

Winemakers are disappointed by the news, realizing that Amazon's impact would have gone beyond price and distribution. "They have greatly enhanced the amount of information available on books, and could on wine, too," says Steve Burns, former head of the Washington Wine Commission.

An Amazon spokesman confirms the decision to end its efforts but says the company would have no further comment.

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