Amazon.com, the largest global online retailer, plans to start selling US-produced wine on its website within the US by early October, said wine industry insiders.

Napa Valley Vintners, a non-profit group representing 315 vintners in the famous California wine-producing region, has already begun to set up workshops for wineries interested in selling through the retail giant, said Terry Hall, communications director for the group.

"They have been working for a while on this wine project. Now they are signing up the wineries," Mr Hall said. "They're fast-tracking it right now."

An Amazon spokesman declined to comment.

Seattle-based Amazon is looking to sell wine in approximately 26 states and wine sold on its site will come from all regions of the country, Mr Hall said.

Annual wine consumption in the US has grown for the last 14 years as wine has gradually shed its image as an exclusive beverage for the well-heeled. Today, many enthusiasts are coming from all parts of the country and younger Americans are turning to wine-drinking as an alternative to beer.

Total US wine sales were between €21 billion and €23 billion in 2007, according to Barbara Insel, president of Stonebridge Research Group, a research firm for the wine industry.

Some €2 billion is sold through retail formats like wine clubs, tasting rooms and the like, with only seven per cent of that coming from E-commerce, partly due to the expense of shipping wine, and confusing states rules on wine shipments, Ms Insel said.