JennyP

I would love to bring back some olive oil and wine as gifts from Italy but I'm not sure what the cost for each item is? Is it cheap to purchase these items in Italy?

What is the average price range that I should expect. If it's too expensive, what are other gift alternatives would you suggest? Thank you!

sandi_travelnut

As with wine from your area, it ranges wildly. You can buy local, house wines from some restaurants at 4-10 euro per bottle. When we were in Italy last December we made apoint to pop in some stores and looked at the Italian wines that we normally buy at home (Dallas) and they were only a few dollars less than in the States.

ira

Hi JP,

How much do you want to spend?

Also consider Balsamic Vinegar from Modena, dried Porcini mushrooms and Limoncello from the Amalfi Coast.

Patrick

Here's a funny story. Last year I went to a nice little shop in Montepulciano and bought (for myself) a really good bottle of Olive Oil and a really good bottle of balsamic vinegar. The nice clerk helped me pick what was "the best". They are good. One day in my usual local market here in Naples, Florida (which has some nice selections) I found the same olive oil and the same balsamic that I bought in Montepulciano. Now here's the funny part. Both are quite a bit cheaper than what I paid for them in Europe before carting them home!!!

ezlivin

I stopped buying wines in Europe.
Especially since most are almost always available here in the US and almost always cheaper.

ira

Considering the previous posts, go with the dried Porcini mushrooms.

Buy a couple of 250 g (1/2 lb) pkgs and split them up among your friends.

L84SKY

HOw many bottles of wine and olive oil were you thinking about? It's going to get awfully heavy to lug that home.
The mushrooms will be a better idea just because they are so light.

swalter518

We had the best luck with prices on olive oil at the local COOP-the oil was about $3-4 a bottle (big one), not fancy at all but the oil was outstanding.

JennyP

Thanks for all your responses/suggestions. I'll definitely look into the porcini mushrooms.

TexasAggie

You might also think about small spice packets (usually tied up attractively). I brought home the cutests packets of dried basil and oregano and crushed red peppers from our trip last May. Also... if you are going to be in the south (Sorrento, Amalfi Coast) - the lemon soaps are amazing. Great for small gifts!

RSTravelers

We are going to Tuscany for the first time next month, and I was also hoping to bring back some olive oil and wine. ira & TexasAggie,the mushrooms, vinegar, spices, and soaps sound like great ideas, too. As far as the weight, what about having some wine shipped home, or is that quite expensive? ezlivin, I don't know where you live, but in our area we cannot always find MOST of the wines in Europe, especially those from very local vineyards.

TexasAggie

Hi RSTravelers,

If you type "ship wine home" into the search box you should find several threads with the specifics on customs duty, shipping prices, etc.

I know the regulations vary by state. Some states require you to have a distributor and they will hold your wine and not let you have it until you hire one. It can be messy and expensive.

What we do (a tip from another Fodors poster) is bring an empty suitcase over to Italy (the largest allowed as a carryon). We fill it with bubblewrap and tape. Then we put the wine in that suitcase, wrapped carefully in bubblewrap so as not to get broken. On the way home, we check the bag with our dirty clothes and carry the one with the wine on board the plane. We brought 12 bottles back from Germany this way last February and 14 bottles back from Italy this way last May. Nothing broke and it was much easier and less expensive than shipping.

elaine

You might consider bottles of truffle-infused oil. You can get them in the USA also, but still they are kind of special. And small! Most bottles 4-5 inches high.

BTilke

If you bring soaps and mushrooms, keep them well away from each other in your luggage. You don't want to give friends dried mushrooms that taste suspiciously of lemon soap.
I had an aunt who went to great pains every year to send me a "care package" of my favorite PA Dutch foods on my birthday. BUT she always also stuck in a few Avon scent products (don't know why, I wasn't a regular Avon customer). PA Dutch pretzels and Avon perfumed talcum powder in the same box was not a match made in heaven.

allisonm

Maybe it's possible to find the same wine here in the US for less than what you paid in France or Italy, but there is still something very special about the wine that you toted home when you are drinking it a couple of months later!

ezlivin

RS,
I am not diassuading anybody from buying wines in Europe. By all means, buy and take home wines that provides pleasant memories of your trip. I still do that when my wife insist that we buy and take home a bottle.

It's just that, I travel quite a bit to Europe and am an avid wine drinker. If I like a wine I usually buy, at least, 6 bottles or more, and I usually like a lot of wines when I do wine tasting in Europe. It becomes a big inconvenience to lug home cases of wines.

Even though I belong to a nationwide network of wine-lovers (including wine-producers/makers, collectors, critics, retailers and Joe-Schmoe-wine-lover-like-me), I find that there's enough retailers in the country that carries almost every wine that I have liked when travelling.

Try wine-searcher.com .

uhoh_busted

My fav is always truffle-infused oil -- thanks for reminding me Elaine! You can sometimes find it here, but it has never been as good. (I've been really bummed out by stuff I've bought at Trader Joes. Guess it's time for another trip to Italy!)

hlphillips2

Patrick it's so funny that you mention that. I just returned from a trip to Italy and was so disheartened shopping at my local grocery store last night to find that one of the wines I'd purchased was on sale and in high abundance. The good news, if you can say that, is that I'd saved approximately US$1! A variety Italian and French wines are easier to find in the US. Though I've purchased wines from Germany for around 3 - 8 Euros that can't be found anywhere else - mostly because they're from small local vinyards. Similar small vineyards can be found in Italy as well. I paid 10 Euro for a bottle from one such producer. Generally speaking though I typically have the best luck at grocery stores, where you can find wine from 4 Euro upwards. I purchased a huge bottle of olive oil for 25 Euro from a small producer, but saw smaller bottles for around 7.

RSTravelers

TexasAggie,

Sorry, I'm a little slow in responding. I've been helping my mom move. Thanks for the good tip about bringing wine home. I really like your idea, and from what I read concerning shipping to various states, etc., it would seem like much less of a hassle to use an empty carry-on. We always make sure we free up a carry-on anyway to bring back European goodies. It is so much fun to add some wine to the rack that has special meaning. Thanks again for your help.

Gretchen

Heavy, heavy, heavy. Not worth it.