Amazon, for those who do not yet know, is an online sales site launched in 1994 and landed in France in 2000. The year, the platform was designated by the French "brand of the year".

The 23 September 2015, Amazon officially launched its Grocery offer on the site, offering a whole host of consumer products, of which alcohols - and what interests us here - 3,294 wine references. The opportunity for us to decipher the proposed offer to understand how a large retailer can shoot itself in the foot - before shooting an arrow in the knee, to slash a sword in the shoulder, set yourself on fire and throw yourself off a bridge

[update of 08/07/2017] Amazon is NOT becoming a winegrower

The Amazon company has just returned its jacket. It seems that the press release, I was telling you about yesterday, announcing the partnership between Amazon and King Estate Wine was in fact "incorrect".

An Amazon representative told a reporter about CNBC that the American giant Amazon.com does not participate at any level in the development of these wines, and that it was only the simple sales channel for this new range of wine.

[update of 07/07/2017] Amazon becomes a winegrower

We thought that Amazon was going to settle for an online wine sales platform, but the American giant is interfering more and more in the wine world.

Indeed, Amazon signed a partnership with an Oregon-based wine company. Their goal is to launch a whole new range of wines called "Next". Amazon continues to expand its online sales platform, but Jeff Bezos' company tends to diversify its activity more and more. A contract has been signed between Amazon and King Estate Winery, an Oregon-based company that spoke about the partnership in a statement released Wednesday 28 June.

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Called "Next", this very first range of wine made in Amazon is available in three wines : a pinot gris, a pinot noir and a blend wine with 39% of Syrah , 38% of Merlot , 23% of Cabernet Sauvignon.

The prices are “almost” accessible, although higher than those usually offered by the internet giant. Bottles cost between 17 to 45 €.

“We are delighted to connect wineries, as King Estate, with millions of customers and give them an innovative format to launch new brands. »Said Amazon.

King Estate Winery confuses us by explaining, “When people lived in the same village, wines and cuisine developed together. Today, this direct link risks being lost. We are launching NEXT on Amazon to reestablish the connection between winemaker and wine lover in today's "digital village" ". As if selling wine on Amazon would restore the link between winemaker and winelovers…

The products are available on the platform for alcoholic beverages, Amazon Wine, launched in 2012.

Amazon.fr and the sale of wine on the Internet : bullshit !

The prescription for the sale of wine online ? Useless…

To make it short, prescription is the act of influencing purchasing behavior to a greater or lesser extent. This influence is all the stronger as the prescriber is deemed to be a source of good advice - genre… me, your loyal fine wines !

Amazon's marketing team certainly must not have sold a lot of wine in the past or stayed too long on the "product tasting" stage given the result of the site's new wine offering.. Who would buy wine on the Internet without being sure 100 % of what he buys ? No one ! This information can be varied : colors, tastes, aromas, food / wine pairings, guard capacity, origins, grape varieties, and so on.

Wine : an artistic definition

According to the definition of the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) wine is exclusively the drink resulting from the complete or partial alcoholic fermentation of fresh grapes, sprained or not, or grape must. Its acquired alcoholic strength may not be less than 8,5 % vol.

For Amazon, the notion of wine looks very different since from the first page of the wine offer, we find a Spanish liqueur titrating more than 30 % made of 43 ingredients that have nothing to do with grapes. You can also buy “Fruit Wines” with evocative names like Coucougnettes, Scraper Ass or La Galipette.

wine blog fine wines amazon wine liqueur

The Designation of Origin ? it's custard

When I buy wine, I like to know where he comes from. Which country, regions, towns ? and so on. — normal, you'll ask me

For Amazon, geography is random and unnecessary in many cases. This is how we can find a "Man O’War Ironclad Bordeaux Blend" by 2009 without knowing its true origin - which suggests that he comes from Bordeaux —. The notion of "Bordeaux blend" refers to the mixture of different grape varieties authorized in red Bordeaux wines.. The six varieties are : Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Carmenère. After some research on other online wine sales sites, we discover that this Man O’War Ironclad is actually from New Zealand.

Read also -  Lyon deconfined : discover Beaujolais
wine blog fine-wines amazon wine Bordeaux Blend

Champagne is no longer what it used to be

You want to buy Champagne for the holidays ? No problem, a little research on Amazon and bingo :

wine blog fine wines amazon wine Champagne

The difference between these two bottles ? The first is of course Champagne de Champagne, the other is Cognac XO - XO means he has 7 years of age —. However, these two bottles are side by side in the Champagne category of the site. — Dom Pérignon must do somersaults in his grave

Champagne, also called Champagne wine, is a French sparkling wine protected by a controlled designation of origin whose regulation required several centuries of gestation. Its name comes from Champagne, a region in the north-east of France. Geographical delimitation, the grape varieties, the yields and the entire production of champagne are the main specificities of the appellation. I thus discovered that Germany had invaded Champagne since German bottles of Champagne are on sale.

wine blog fine wines amazon wine Champagne Germany

Amazon partners with Google Translate

It's well known, the French are bad at English. But Amazon has found THE solution to this problem: they translated everything even what shouldn't be. So, one can find in the proposed references of "Moss Vale Bois Ruban" to designate a "Moss Wood – Amy’s Vineyard ».

wine blog fine-wines amazon wine Moss Vale Bois

Appellations are not spared by the phenomenon. And an Entre-Deux-Mers takes strange turns by becoming a "Mers Château Haut-Rian Entre-Deux".

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Even stronger, Amazon transforms a Spanish wine from the "Paringa Estate "In" Paringa Immobilière " :

wine blog fine-wines amazon wine Paringa Estate

On continue ? Amazon even translated from French to French. Thus the domain of Borie La Vitarèle becomes "Borie La Vitarãle" and takes exotic notes. Could it be a hungarian wine ? No, a wine from Languedoc-Roussillon.

And ultimate combo - FINISH HIM - the photo shows only a glass of wine. The glass of wine costs 45 € ?

wine blog fine-wines amazon wine Borie Verre

To get to the bottom of it, I decided to read the product description to find out if it was the price for a bottle, a glass or a palette and surprise, here is what we can read :

Aop saint chinian roquebrun terroir: terroir of […]rolled pebbles (syrahs and mourvãšdres) with vines at altitude (350 – 400 mothers). Dãgustation: an opulent wine […] marked a little by wood in its youth but of a rare intensity. It combines freshness and alal, […] Food and wine pairing :beef cheek stew, prime rib, roasted farm poultry (goose). Cãpages :syrah – carignan – mourvãšdre techniques: manual harvest in boxes : sorting grain by grain to eliminate any passerillage. Partial destemming, vinified in new demi-muids on fine lees, gentle extractions by punching down, no so2, indigenous and selected yeasts, no filtration, no fining during bottling. 1500 collar products. Aging potential : of 8 ã 10 years.

If you understood, you must definitely work at Amazon or you should apply.

And it’s never ending…

I prefer to dwell on these few examples - already numerous - because I could go on for hours and write a book on "How not to sell wine online ? " in 10 tomes. There are many errors like the ones I have just presented to you on Amazon's offering and with 3,294 references, we are never immune to surprises. Unfortunately for Amazon, such errors are unlikely to please the various wine offices and the site may pay the costs.

Plast for the road. You want to make a good move ? Buy this Crémant from 1 531 liters for only 39,90 € !

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Jean-Nicolas Mouretin