Amazon.com's plans for an online wine business have been the subject of intense chatter in the wine industry ever since its shipping partner, New Vine Logistics, ran into financial trouble. But after repeated delays, Amazon appears poised to launch its wine site. Thomas Winkler, an Amazon senior wine buyer, has been inviting select members of the wine industry to see a private online demo of the company's wine website next week.

The idea is "to show you our wine website before it launches to the public, to answer any questions and to hear your thoughts about it," Winkler wrote Tuesday in the email, obtained by TechFlash.

The email comes a week after New Vine reportedly suspended operations. It was not immediately clear when Amazon plans to publicly launch its wine website. A website called wine.amazon.com is currently accessible by invitation only. Amazon spokeswoman Patty Smith had no comment.

Charlotte Milan, a spokeswoman for New Vine Logistics, said, "The Amazon project is and was a priority. They've been ramping up for that for months," but added, "I can't comment on the status of what that deal is."

Reports from last fall indicated Amazon was gearing up to sell bottles of wine online, and was tapping New Vine Logistics for wine fulfillment. Given the size of its ecommerce business, Amazon's expected jump into the wine market has generated significant buzz among winemakers, though apparent delays and New Vine's problems created some uncertainty.

Amazon currently sells some wine online through its Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service, which is now limited to the greater Seattle area.

[Flickr photo via John-Morgan]

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