I have a question about Wally’s wine. I have never used them before, and I am always a little reluctant to buy futures from West Coast retailors (higher shipping, plus wine has to be shipped via Panama Canal so greater chance of being cooked IMHO) but I want to reserve some 2008 Le Gay, as this isone of my favorite estates, and this is likely to be the last <$100 vintage for a long time.
Anyone have any opinions about them? Are they good and reliable? My only other option is JJ Buckley, and there are numerous issues there.
my opinion: pass.
alan
Seriously? I’m not being facetious – I’m genuinely curious that wines are still shipped that route?
How else would you get wine from Europe to LA / Long Beach or Oakland? You use (WORKING!) reefers and it’s no problem.
Bob–
Wally’s is a big time “wine retailer to the stars” here in La-La land. They do a huge business in high-end wines. They’ve been around a long time and are quite successful. I’ve never ordered from them–usually their prices are on the high side–but I would think they’d be reliable in terms of getting you the wine you ordered.
Living on the West Coast, I’ve never found “cooked” wines from Europe to be a particular problem. Whether it makes sense for someone back east or midwest to order from them, I dunno, I would think you could find a reliable source at a better price somewhere east of the Rockies. But if not, Wally’s is a very solid operation to my knowledge.
Given the option of those two retailers, I’d pick Wally’s if the price is OK. Usually their prices are not very good. I know some people have had issues with them. I’ve purchased some wines there and haven’t had any problems.
I guess I assumed they were shipped to the East Coast and sent via train or truck from there. It just seemed like shipping via the canal would take so much longer.
It really doesn’t take that much longer. Carolyn, do you have any idea how much more it would cost to truck every single bottle of European wine across the country from the east coast? Holy cow. The GDP’s of Third World countries are probably lower.
Wally is usually pretty expensive, but for futures, sometimes their prices can be pretty competitive. They used to match other future prices a few years ago, but those were the good old days.
I’ve bought futures from them a few times and they’ve always delivered without a hitch.
multiple bad issues for me, confirmed wines being “lost” or “out of stock,” to the point that they are one of the few stores I’ll block. They have burned me several times and if you’re buying a wine you really want that might not be available later, shop elsewhere.
alan
Price isn’t an issue here. It is simply a matter of Buckley vs Wallys as the only shops I can ind that are carrying my favorite Cab franc based wine. It isn’t a rush, so I will think about it some more. but ALan’sposts worry me a little as I am talking futures.
Recently got a reefer of wines from Italy, including what I think are the first 2006 Barolo to land anywhere in the US (Can someone on the east coast correct me if I’m wrong?). It takes an extra 7-10 days to arrive via the canal.
