Having announced its intention to sell wine in the US, Amazon is seeking a senior wine buyer to help acquire a sizeable product selection, reports The Financial Times.

The wine category will join the growing non-perishable groceries business Amazon launched two years ago.

The online wine industry drew millions of dollars of investment during the internet boom, but state-by-state restrictions on wine shipping withered the market.

In 1999, Amazon invested $30 million for 45 percent of Wineshopper.com, only to watch it expire the following year.

Tight regulation has permitted few online wine merchants to flourish. Wine.com, a major market label, can only ship wine to 26 states. It must also operate 10 different warehouses that buy from state-licensed wholesalers, boosting costs and hampering efficiency.

The market is nonetheless profitable. Wine.com now boasts brick-and-mortar retail stores in California and Connecticut, according to Cooking with the Single Guy.