Online retailer Amazon.com has abandoned plans to sell wine in the US after the project hit a series of problems.
The company confirmed the news some 18 months after reports of its scheme for direct wine sales first surfaced.
'I can confirm Amazon will not be getting into the wine business,' a spokesperson told decanter.com.
Amazon declined to reveal further details after an email from a senior executive to a number of wineries was leaked to the US media.
'I am very sorry to let you know we have recently decided not to resume shipping,' Amazon senior account manager Dini Rao said in the email.
'As you know, we were excited to work with you to build the AmazonWine business. For that reason, this was a very tough choice for us.'
Amazon's plans to sell wine direct have been beset from the beginning by problems caused by the complicated regulatory and distribution system in the US.
The retailer had hoped to ship US wines to up to 26 states, but its fulfilment and logistics partner, New Vine Logistics, ceased trading in June this year, before being taken over by Inertia Beverage Group.
One industry source said the retailer had been unable to make the business model work for wine.
'There were just too many issues with fulfilment and distribution to make it worth their while,' the source said.
'If anyone could have made it work, they would have – but shipping wine in the US is a logistical and regulatory nightmare.'
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