Anyone have suggestions on bringing wine back to the US? Would it be easier to ship? I'm not exactly sure what the legal requirements on wine are...any ideas?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kim,

Hi Anna, welcome to Slow Talk!

I've started to put together some information in our FAQ section Wine in Italy which includes information on bringing wine home (limits, transporting). Take a gander there and I'm sure you find more - I'd try a search, using the Find button on Italy, wine, transport, to start.

Have fun planning.

I think it depends on how much you want to bring back. I'm not sure what the legal limit is (i.e., customs). My husband and I got back from Italy 2 weeks ago and brought back a huge bottle of limoncello, a magnum of wine, and 3 regular size (750 mL) bottles. I declared them all and customs didn't say a word. We carried everything with us in our carry-on baggage.

When we were in Italy a couple of years ago I had inquired about shipping back wine and it was really expensive -- over $100 for 1/2 case. You might want to check again when you are there.

I can get good wines at home but if you find Italian wine(s) you really like of course bring them back.
I brought the stuff that is not readily available here like 'Limoncello' which I acquired a taste for (chilled) and of course 'Grappa' to make that espresso just perfect. Our limit is 2.25 Litres PP so the higher proof drink (40%) like these is better value.

Hi Anna,

legally I don't think you are allowed to ship wine privately into the US, you need to be a licensed importer, and although the courts are changing the laws, it still varies from state to state. You will also find it hard to get anyone in Italy to ship wine for you, I know neither the Post office, DHL, Fedex or UPS will. Some dodgy outfits in Tuscany wre shipping for people labelling the bottles olive oil, but that is breaking the law (they call it smuggling) and you are liable to be fined and have your precious Barolos and Brunellos confiscated.

However US customs are very lenient with your extra bottles when you arrive home as long as you declare them as a law-abiding citizen, its not worth their time and resources to try and collect a few bucks of import duties, and many people I know routinely bring up to 24 bottles home.

I have always thought the best way is to get the handy styrofoam wine shipping cases (you can buy them at Mail-Box outlets all over Italy) and check the box in rather then try to hand carry (don't tape the box up until checked in, so airline staff can check that its really wine, and bring your own tape just in case).

Chin chin

Official limit for U.S. customs is two bottles of wine and one bottle of spirits per adult. More than that you're supposed to pay a duty. I like travelling light, and I hate checking luggage, so I just take the limit each time.

We returned with 9 bottles of wine, a bottle of limoncello and 3 bottles of Olive Oil. The limoncello was purchased at the airport so my wife suffed it into her carry on. The wine was packed into my carry on that I had lined with bubble wrap that I brought from home. I also wrapped each bottle individually. The olive oil was wrapped with the bubble wrap and stuffed into a checked piece of baggage.

We had no problems with customs or breakage.

There is nothing like opening a bottle of wine that was purchased on the trip. In addition to the great wine, it brings memories of the trip back that are priceless.

Good luck!!!

Bob

We brought 9 bottles of wine and 2 bottles of olive oil back from France last month, coming through customs in Atlanta. My husband carried all this in two carry-on bags. (For the next trip he will plan to invent some kind of rolling wine carrier!)

We declared all nine bottles on our customs form. One customs agent told us we were really only allowed to bring a case. Another customs agent told us that we were only supposed to have eight bottles, but we were OK with nine. Even though the US Customs website says you're only supposed to be able to bring one liter each duty-free, we didn't have to pay any duty.

I agree with Bob that bringing wine home from a trip is a great way to continue to savour the memories.

Kathy

Last fall when we brought back about 10 bottles of wine and coustoms didn't care, but it about broke my husbands back! This time we didn't bring but one bottle home. We found most of the same wines available here for just a few dollars more.(maybe near the same with the horrible exchange rate!) Not worth the trouble to haul it back!

I usually bring 24 bottles back no problem. I have never had to pay any duty.I have a suitcase which rolls which I put most of the wine in(18 bottles) Not all wine is available here and some if available is twice as much.For example Giacosa Borolo is about $120 here and 60 there.RR

Robert, do you declare the 24 bottles?

Kathy

We bring back 12 bottles wine, usually and a couple of bottles of liquer. I do declare it but haven't had to pay duty yet. I think Dean did once but the cost wasn't that dramatic. Due to the amount he was bringing back, they were more concerned he was going to resell than use it for his own purposes.

Yes. I declare simply that I have wine.If they ask how much I would tell but they never have.RR

Shipping wine is so expensive because of the weight...if you can find someone to do it (some will refuse, as it's supposed to be illegal, but I know several of enotecas here who'll get it home for you).

I've never heard of anyone having any problem with any wine they could manage to carry back with them, declared or otherwise. I think Customs just wants to make sure you're not bringing it home to sell (Now if you had 24 cases, you might raise an eyebrow or two...).

I'm trying to get a bottle of Basil Hayden bourbon over here myself, and can't figure out if it'll get shipped back once it gets to Italian customs. I better be heading for Cristina's expatsinitaly...

I tend to agree with the previous post that unless you find a particularly rare wine, it's not worth it to haul it back..I used to fill up my bag with $30-100 Barolos and Brunellos and haul them back like a mule. I learned that almost all the wines were available back home or in certain specialty wine stores. The difference in cost was negligible especially when you consider the hassle of loading and carrying the stuff all the way through the airport(s)(10 bottles is quite heavy if you're walking a long distance from one gate to another.

Lastly, I found the best value was in purchasing great olive oil from a single producer (not blended) and Fresh! Italians go crazy for fresh olive oil and usually toss or only use olive oil that's been around longer than a few months for cooking. In N. America it's impossible to get fresh olive oil and certainly harder to find small production batches from specialty producers. What makes it even better is that you only need to bring back a couple of bottles, so you save on all the hassle.

As a wine collector, in my opinion the best value in having to haul back a bottle of anything is in olive oil, grappa, vintage basalmic vinegar or specialty bottle of spirits not normally available in your home country. JMHO

Many inexpensive wines arn't available,for example only 2-3 producers of morellino are available at La winehouse or La wine company.It's really not that big a deal to carry the wine as long as you are under weight requirements etc.Almost all bags roll how hard is that? This trip will be different as I am carrying all my baggage all 120 miles of my Mt blanc hike,and very few wines are worth carrying that far!! RR

I'm with you, there a lots of wines with grapes and blends we've never heard of and small producers who don't export. Shove one suitcase full of those and check it through; enjoy later along with all the memories of how you came upon them.

I also agree that the wines from the small vineyards who don't export are the best treasures to bring home. We tasted some very nice wines at De Conciliis in Campagna that pretty much all went to local better restaurants and even the wines they do export don't get much further than NYC.

It you think it's too much of a problem then don't bring wine back. But I was able find some really nice Tuscan wines that I had never seen or tasted before. And opening those wines a year or more later brings back the memories of the day they were purchased like it was yesterday. What better way to share the memories of that day with your companion than by drinking the wine you purchased together?

As far as the Olive Oil, we retruned with three bottles of fresh Extra Virgin and I wish we had purchased more.

The other good tip is the vintage balsamic. It's expensive but you just can't get it in the states.

We consistenly buy wine at a small vineyard in San Gimignano and bring it home. We also use the styrofoam wine carriers in a suitcase and have never broken a bottle. Also declare it all and have never been charged. We usually have 6-8 bottles. It is not available here, very expensive to ship, and it is wonderful to drink it--we save it for special occasions. Worth the trouble as far as we are concerned.

I think it's fine to bring back a piece of Italy. If if happens to be a few bottles of special wine so be it. My comment refered to most high end Italian reds that I would purchase in quanties IE 10-12 bottles at a time...my point is that it's not worth the hassle of carrying them...better to stick to a program of minimum one bottle of wine a day while your there ;-) especially if they are available back home. Of course this is my opinion and I respect the opinions of others who don't mind carrying them.

Just got back from France last week, and at an opn-air market found this cool canvas carrier that holds nine bottles. It's made in Germany.
I thought it would be too heavy to carry 9 bottles on the plane, but my husband said no problem, he'll do it! We left it at our place in the south of France, and will pick it up to take from there to Italy in June - fill it up with wine and olive oil
I'll let you know how it works.
Anne

We lugged wine, olive oil and a bottle eachh of limoncello and Molinari Sambucca home last year. We won't do that again in that we will be more "selective" in what comes back. Some things like regional olive oils, we found in Italian Markets here at home. Limoncello we now make ourselves so no need.

However, I would bring back Grappa, as it is far too costly here compared to what you can buy it there for. Molinari Sambucca as I can't find it here. Selected wines, like Brunello's and Barolo's that are so expensive here as well.

I love Vernacchia di San Gimignano but have found a merchant here in Florida who has over 8 different brands of it and most are no more than $12 a bottle!

With that cost, it sure beats lugging it all.

Doug

quote:

Originally posted by karinka:
I also agree that the wines from the small vineyards who don't export are the best treasures to bring home. We tasted some very nice wines at De Conciliis in Campagna that pretty much all went to local better restaurants and even the wines they do export don't get much further than NYC.

A lot of them get to Washington DC!

We ahve both his Fiano Donnalunga and Perilla, His Aglianico Donnaluna and Naima and Si Kube (his cabernet blend).