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Amazon has launched an over the Internet wine sales operation, but don't get too excited yet, most states still don't allow shipping of alcohol to one's front door. The market, which opens today, will ship wines to the following states: California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming and the District of Columbia. Sorry, everywhere else. But for people living in those areas, Amazon will offer 1,000 wine choices and it will ship up to six bottles for $9.99 plus the price of those bottles.
Though certain states can maybe expect Amazon to expand shipments to their area, others will never-ever see shipments because of strict laws that prohibit wines being shipped from certain places and to certain other places. As you can see in that map to the right from the Wine Institute, the states in red prohibit the shipment of wine in some way or another. In Utah and Kentucky it is a felony, notes The Wall Street Journal's Greg Bensinger. People in Alabama need written permission if they want to get wine, otherwise it's illegal. But even in those blue states, there are some restrictions that might turn Amazon off from starting up business there. In West Virginia, for example, the winery has to get a letter of approval from its own state as well as West Virginia. Furthermore, advertising the shipment of wine to residents is illegal. However, there is some hope in other places.