My research indicates that it is still illegal for a retailer to ship into TX, so I am need of a TX retailer from whom I can purchase a gift to send (or facts that update my understanding of TX law). Any suggestions?
Neal, my understanding is not only is it illegal for out-of-state retailers to ship into TX, it’s also illegal for in-state retailers to ship outside of their immediate area. For example, I live just north of Houston, but in a different county than Houston. Retailers in Houston cannot ship or deliver to me, or even move inventory from a store in one county to another.
It’s tough. Not only is it difficult to ship into the state, it is also difficult to ship within the state. So, you really need a retailer local to the recipient. For example, Specs will not ship from Houston to Dallas, etc. For Austin, I’d recommend Austin Wine Merchant, for Dallas Pogo’s, Houston you could use Houston Wine Merchant. All locations have Specs and Total Wine.
It is still considered bootlegging. Chains cannot ship between their own stores in different counties once they have taken possession of any ETOH. Tell me what you want and I can hand deliver to Denton any time.
There are out of state stores that ship to Texas. You should call ones with which you deal to see if they will ship. I will not name any on this thread.
Stores in Texas cannot even move wine from one of their stores to another in a different county. There are ways around this, but I doubt any stores will do it for someone who is not a regular customer because it is quite a hassle for the store. Denton is in a different county from both Dallas and Fort Worth, unfortunately.