Out of the way Avon and Pampered Chef. Wine is the newest excuse to throw a party, sell things to your friends and neighbours — and make a little money.

“I tried selling cosmetics and nutritional products, but couldn’t make a go of it,” said Diane Nozik, a 35-year-old mother of two married to an active-duty sailor in the US Navy. Then Nozik had a flash of inspiration after her husband took her to a number of wine tastings “and I really enjoyed them.”

Since she had wanted to make a little extra money, without the hassle of storing boxes of goods, Nozik had found the perfect solution.

“What I wanted at the beginning was just a product. I didn’t want to have to have an inventory. I didn’t want to have to deliver it. I didn’t want to have to deal with bounced checks,” said Nozik, who now earns more than six figures from her work for WineShop at Home. “I just wanted something that people would like. That it would be fun. That it would be consumable. And that describes a wine tasting. There’s a party.”