Amazon (AMZN) enters wine market

In vino veritas. Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is entering the wine business, but it may find it a difficult market. According to the FT, the company will "start selling wine in the US, entering a business fraught with regulatory complexities and littered with the wreckage of previous failures."

Some states don't like wine shipped from one place to another. It is alcohol and who can tell if a 12-year-old is ordering a bottle of the good stuff. There are also state tax implications. Each state wants every penny of its tax on liquor.

Perhaps just as difficult is the issue of whether wine drinkers would like to have a look at the bottle and the label. They can do that at the local wine store. If they aren't happy, they can take it back. They may not get a refund, but the store owner might invite them for a drink.

Amazon now sells everything from books to music downloads. Maybe it should draw the line at booze. State authorities don't watch for DVDs through the mail, but bottles of chianti are a different matter.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.