I just purchased some 2006 Paolo Scavino Barolo Riserva Rocche dell’Annunziata and some 2010 Bruno Rocca Barbaresco Coparossa from Sigel’s in Dallas and had it sent to my local Sigel’s in Plano for pickup. Sigel’s was bought out of bankruptcy by Twin Liquors. Once a twice a year, they put out a bin ends list and I typically find a few wines with some age on them at very good prices. The Scavino was $70 less than Wine Searcher Pro prices and I couldn’t have bought from any of those three vendors anyway. They can’t ship to Texas.
That said, most of what I buy is aged and it comes from several sources in state and out that are known for having wines of good provenance which especially important when it comes to aged wines. The other risk no matter who you buy from is of a corked wine. I just had a corked 1996 Louis Jadot Chambertin-Clos de Bèze this past weekend. I bought the wine from a trusted source in 2013. Not much can be done about that.
Anyone have experience with having Pogo’s ship outside of Dallas? They actually have a decent deal or two online it appears, but won’t let you ship outside the area on the website.
I assume it would be illegal for them to ship anywhere outside Texas, Tom R. probably knows for sure. Every morning I get their email blast and every morning I go directly to wine-searcher and their ‘deal of the day’ gets crushed every single day. As I said above I go when they have their once a year sale or when they have something I can’t get anywhere else knowing I’ll pay a premium.
*I’m not trying to pick on Pogo’s they operate in an upscale area and within the Texas three tier system
If you’re in Dallas for a visit though, the selection is pretty nice. I’m willing to pay a premium on one or two bottles (depending on price point) that are harder to source. Don’t go expecting to find a deal, but they have a ton of allocated wines.
As an aside, when is their annual sale and what are the terms if anyone knows?
Pogo’s sticker pricing is really rough. Depending on your connections with wine brokers or store purchase history, you are allotted a discount rate. That discount range can range pretty broadly. My discount rate is pretty good. For many of their wines, their pricing plus my discount rate drops it below what I’d pay other places by $10 a bottle or so. Sometimes they’ll still lose by $15-30. Usually they have a better selection of premium wines than most other places, and I think because of that you’re paying a bit of a finder’s fee. Got to pick your spots, and if you’re buying shelf price, it can be pretty rough.
TX law restricts retailers to a “local delivery area”, usually the county or within 2 miles of the city limits where the retailer is located, but prohibits delivery elsewhere in the state. Delivery outside of TX is not prohibited, but I assume a retailer can choose to offer it or not.
Generally speaking, when shipping wine it is the laws related to the destination that govern. You also have the common carriers to contend with. Even if it is legal to ship wine to a given state, you have to be an approved shipper of alcoholic beverages with common carriers. I do not have knowledge on the scope of a Texas retailer shipping out of state because I have not ever been in that situation- either when ITB years ago or now as a customer- but it is not a service I have ever requested, nor am I aware of it taking place.
What I can tell you is the law within Texas. Retailers cannot ship wines anywhere within the state- not even next door. On a retail permit, you cannot put the wines into the hands of a common carrier for delivery within the state to anyone for any reason.
As for deliveries handled by retail personnel- you can deliver to customers or to other branches of your own retail store provided you are not leaving the county. Deliveries across county lines, regardless of wet or dry laws within a given county, are prohibited. Special arrangements can be made if a retailer is closing some of its locations and consolidating inventory, for example- but as a matter of routine business the county line is a firm limit.
This is why Pogo’s and other retailers have a limited delivery area outside of whatever internal limits they set on their own terms.