Monday, January 21, 2013

Hill of Content Shiraz 2006

Although sourced from several vineyards in both southern and western Australia, this red is remarkably well put together, with an extremely smooth, restrained mix of cherry and dark berry flavors. It's miles away from the notorious Australian fruit bomb, and a very nice wine indeed. The price, $9.99, is something of a conundrum. You can get it for as much as three dollars less in N.J., but you can also pay six dollars more. If we weren't in PA, I'd say the choice is yours.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Paul - I understand the challenge of wine pricing in PA but I have found bargains here (PA) you probably can't find anywhere else. That being said if you want something from a neighboring state why don't you have it shipped to you? Try Empire Wines in Albany for example. Shipping costs will probably not be that different than the tax - George

Paul P Bernard said...

Thank you George for your suggestion but unfortunately it is not possible to have wines shipped to PA from outside the state given the PA laws. Technically, you are not even allowed to carry it over state lines. Surprised? Yes, so was I! If I attempt to have wine shipped online, the site informs me that I am unable to do it because of the state law.

Anonymous said...

Paul - I know wineaccess.com and wine.com plus many wine outlets across the country ship to PA. My understanding is that the Supreme Court in 2005 ruled PA's law unconstitutional in regards to wine shipment. In the Granholm v. Heald decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a state cannot treat in-state and out-of-state wineries differently. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District in Philadelphia also declared in 2005 Pennsylvania's direct-shipping laws unconstitutional in Cutner v. Newman. Since PA allows direct shipment of wine from the in-state wineries to your house it has to allow out-of-state deliveries as well according to the Supreme Court. I don't believe that PA has passed any legislation since then that changes this situation.