Bringing home food items from Italy
 

We're leaving in a couple weeks for our first trip to Italy -- Rome for 3 nts, 1 nt in Montepulciano, 3 nts in Florence. We'd love to purchase a few bottles of wine, as well as olive oil, vinegar, cheese, etc. for ourselves and for gifts. How practical & feasible is it to bring these things home, or is it easier to ship them? Are hotels or merchants willing to help w/ shipping? Obviously, w/ cheese there's also the refrigeration issue. Also, while I certainly plan to sample some wines, my husband isn't a wine drinker, and would be much more interested in visiting an oil press or cheese maker. Anyone have recommendations for these?

Take lots of bubble wrap with you, wrap all the wine or olive oil bottles well in bubble wrap, then put them into the boxes that they will inevitably give you when you make your purchase at the store or vineyards. THEN double wrap those in plastic bags and pad them in between your clothes in your suitcases. This is how I just brought home 4 bottles of wine and several jars of chestnut honey. No oil this time because I had enough left from last time.

It is very expensive to ship items home so I believe this is the better way, unless of course you plan on buying cases and cases. Which in itself may be a problem if you want to ship them back home.

In the San Lorenzo food market, open from 7-2 PM, there is a wonderful stall called Baroni. We were there for the second time just now and brought back a beautiful piece of Parmegiano cheese. They will vacuum pack it for you and they told me it will hold without refrigeration like that for 10 days.

We also bought, last time, a wonderful 25 year old balsamic vinegar at this same stall. They made quite a production out of letting us taste and try, with cheeses, spreads, crackers, etc. Even if you don't buy, the experience itself was wonderful.

Most wineries also produce their own olive oil for sale as well. So you can buy wine for yourself and your husband can sample and purchase the olive oil.

Enjoy.

Thanks so much! I doubt we'll be bringing home cases, so I'll bring along some wrap & baggies, and an extra empty duffel bag for our purchases. Thanks for the tips on where to go, too. We'll definitely look for the Baroni stall. Since Florence is our last stop, I plan to do most of our shopping there, and am excited about going to the San Lorenzo market. (In addition to the food, I'm also hoping to get a great pair of boots and purses for myself and my sisters.)

Another thought on the food -- are there any customs restrictions?

Thanks much for your help. Can't wait!

You are very welcome.
The first time we went to Baroni, we happened to stumble upon it, I had not know anything about it, I just liked the woman who was selling. After we returned home, I read up about it and people say it is THE place to buy there, so I was doubly pleased with myself.

I am not sure of the customs regulations per se but I am sure that they do not allow any soft cheeses or salamis, meats, etc. Hard cheeses, and especially vacuum packed are OK, as far as I know. But I would double check with others as well.

Another great buy which does not weigh anything at all and is not breakable, for a change, is dried porcini mushrooms!! And it is now the time to buy them.

If you go to the San Lorenzo market, remember they are open from 7 AM to 2 PM and I am not sure about the weekends. And do try Nerbone there in the market and their boiled beef sandwiches. For 2.30 Euros, one of our best meals in Italy!!

There are good buys in the leather market in Firenze, just check out all the stalls and then make your decision. And remember, their beginning asking price is just a "suggestion", you can bargain them down sometimes quite a lot.

I bring a fold up nylon bag that zips into itself. It has two nylon handles to carry it. On my last day when I pack for home I put all my dirty clothes, underwear, bras, pjs, socks and other soft clothing in this bag. It frees up my suitcase for packing cheese and wine or whatever.

It weights practically nothing, so never have to pay for excess baggage costs.

Then I rollup wine and olive oil in my larger clothes items, pants, jackets and put them in the middle of the suitcase. Maybe plastic bag would help incase of breakage, but I have not had a problem with this happening. I have brought back 4-5 bottles of wine and cheese this way.

In Amsterdam or Italy they will shrinkwrap your cheese and it doesn't have to be refrigerated ever. Edam, gouda, pecorino.

Thanks for all the great info.!

Hi KC,

Keep in mind that you can't bring liquids in carryon.

Make sure that your items are in bubble wrap and in the middle of your clothes in a suitcase.

You can bring home your cheese vacuum sealed. No refrigeration problem.

Don't forget dried Porcini mushrooms.

Enjoy your visit.

Ira, thanks for the tip. I was on the customs website and saw that I'm only allowed 2 liters of wine (2-3 bottles by my calculation), with only 1 being applied to my exemption. I don't mind paying duty, but am disappointed that's all I'll be able to bring back. From Florence, I'll be heading back to the US and my husband is flying on to London for business for 3 more days, and with all the luggage headaches I've read about in London, I'm thinking it'd be best for me to bring back most of our goods from our Italy trip. Any extra advice on this front?

kcitalia_10--you can bring more than two liters back. You'll just pay duty on it.

The only exception is if the state you are returning to has a limit on the amount you can bring in.

Rufus, thanks for clearing that up. I must have misunderstood. Glad to know I can bring back a little more. Don't think IL has any other restrictions. KC

The excess baggage fee would be my only concern if all is well packed. So it depends on how close you are to the limit when you leave. It is a hassle when checking in to be turned back, have to go over to the excess baggage counter, then get back in check in lane. Also, re the excess baggage fees, the internal smaller airlines (when hopping between cities) usually have lower limits than do the international carriers. Though I doubt this affects you. I love Italy; have a great time.

Thanks SusieCue, I'll keep that in mind. My DH and I are each planning to take a small suitcase. Then I just have a large handbag for carry-ons on the way over. I plan to pack an empty duffel to make room for purchases, but still will only be checking two small pieces on the return. Hope it won't be a problem. KC

I have never personally done this, but I have read other posters who write that when they feel they have too many "souvenirs" and things they bought to bring back, they make up a package of their older and even dirty laundry clothes, and mail them back to themselves. That might be something to think about for you as well, just in case.

Did someone tell you that its 2 bottles per person..so for the two of you that would be 4 bottles. Weight has been reduced to about 50 lbs per suitcase. I like the idea of sending dirty laundry home to yourself!! Its still expensive, and will take forever if sent by reg. mail..but it is a solution!! If you bought your airline tickets a long time ago..you may fall under the old weight allowance and instead of paying extra charges per pound its a flat $25. fee. Worth checking.

Don't know what they allow you to carry on now, but I carried all the below-mentioned stuff on. I have a bag that folds flat in my suitcase and this is what I use to tote all my stuff home.

This past summer we spent a week in France and 2 weeks in Italy. This being our 5th trip abroad, I learn what to bring with each trip.

I did pack some bubble wrap and a roll of strapping tape but also brought along several of those padded bags you can buy at stores such as Homegoods and Linen'n'Things. The taller ones were perfect for wine or olive oil. Throw in some extra plastic bags and twisties and put the bottle in these first and then put in the padded bags.

You can also buy these padded bags in like a 6 pack size (for beer I guess) This was again perfect for bringing back jars of pesto and tapenade.

I purchased a beautiful terra cotta wall planter in Assisi and the bubble wrap and strapping tape came in handy to wrap this up.

On our last day in Italy (Rome) we bought Parm. Reg. cheese at the Campo di Fiori market and they shrink wrapped it for us.

We have never shipped stuff home as I am sure it is very expensive.

We brought back wine on several of our first trips, but I find you can get good Italian wines in the U.S. There is other stuff I would prefer to bring back.

Enjoy your trip! We loved Montepulciano and spent a week in July at an agriturismo a few miles outside of town. It was so peaceful but we also loved being in Sorrento when Italy won the World Cup! We will never forget that.

Flame123, thanks for the idea. Hopefully it won't come to that, but it's good to know there's that option if we really go overboard. For anyone interested in doing so, the customs website states:

"Your personal belongings can be sent back to the United States duty-free if they are of U.S. origin and if they have not been altered or repaired while abroad. Personal belongings like worn clothing can be mailed home and will receive duty-free entry if you write the words “American Goods Returned” on the outside of the package."

kleroux, I was apparently confused about the 2-liter rule (I think that applies to items brought back from certain countries). I double-checked and the customs site says there are no specific limits unless it's enough to warrant suspicion of resale. We're in no danger of that since I'm still only thinking about 4-5 bottles max. It says 1-liter can be applied to your exemption, and the rest are dutiable. We can't combine our exemptions since we'll be returning separately and from different countries. And since he'll be travelling on for business, I'll probably bring home most of the souvenirs. I'll definitely check on the weight allowance though. Thanks for the tip.

Bellaitalia, thanks for the info. The padded bags you mentioned ... are they the reusable, neoprene ones? I like the idea of the 6-pk for oils, vinegars, olives, etc. -- not as bulky as the bubble wrap. I'll have to look for those. I don't think anyone can carry on any liquids or foods now unless purchased in the airport, but I'll hopefully still be able to check everything with no problems. Can't wait to see Montepulciano. We're staying in Mueble Il Riccio, and the candid photos of the views from there are just breathtaking.

All this talk of wine and cheese is making my mouth water! Can't wait!

Any other recommendations for great places to make purchases?

Yes, they are the reusable neoprene ones. I have seen them in many stores such as Homegoods, Linens'n'Things, and Bed, Bath and Beyond. Occasionally I have seen them in the housewares section of TJ Maxx and Marshalls.

Don't forget to pack a corkscrew in your checked bag for all the wine you want to drink while in Italy!! We even packed a small plastic heavy duty knife (Walmart picnicware) in our checked bags for breaking off hunks of parm. reg. cheese to go with our wine. Also threw in a couple pieces of foil folded up to store the cheese we were eating while in Italy. Of course you can buy all of this over there but it was nice having it with us.

Enjoy!

It is fun to go into the grocery stores in Italy and that is where I usually buy my olive oil and pesto. You will see Co-op Grocery stores all over and most towns have signs pointing you to them. They usually do close for a few hours in the afternoon and open up again later.

Don't forget to try the fresh buffalo mozzerella. Also, we love our parm. reg. cheese drizzled with a bit of balsamic vinegar.

I like to bring back dish towels from the regions and countries we visit--easy to pack too. Enjoy!

I bought olive oil and balsamic at the co-op, too. Those and porcini mushrooms were my "women" gifts.

But the biggest hits were the spicy dried salamis I got for the men! Now, we were travelling in January so heat wasn't a concern. But I think the dried ones would be OK anytime if you bought them on your last day. As for customs...I don't know if that's a problem because I "forgot" to declare them. #-o

Thanks for the tips, everyone. I was actually at TJMaxx yesterday and found the neoprene 6pk you mentioned. Got one of those as well as a couple of the wine bottle ones. I'll pack some baggies & bubble wrap and will hopefully good to go. We'll be sure to check out the co-ops and markets for snacks to enjoy then as well as to take home. My husband's mother is 100% Italian, so his large family all loves the food. We're thinking they'll all be getting edible Christmas gifts this year (in addition to rosaries blessed by the Pope).

So looking forward to sampling all the wines and cheeses. Can't believe it's finally coming up so quickly. We'll be there in 2 wks.!