Lucy T

Hello, <BR> I was wondering if anybody could tell me how many bottles of wine you are allowed to bring back to the United States from Europe. I am going to study in Dijon this summer and it would be a shame if I could only bring back one bottle of wine (this is what I have heard from others).

joe

One liter per person over 21 every thirty days. Beer, wine or hard stuff.

Oaktown Traveler

Lucy: <BR>Bring back as much as you can carry. My husband and I have been to France a couple of times and both we brought back as many bottles as we wanted. The US Customs folks are really not that strict about is. Smile, be nice and you will be fine. <BR>One side note, we take lots of photos so the camera and the bags of shot film becomes the point of interest as I politely insist on hand inspections. They do not want to go through 30 to 40 rolls of film. We also have 6 to 8 pieces of luggage...oh, the benefits of NOT travelling LIGHT! SMILE... <BR> <BR>Finally, we just got back from a wonderful vacation and went through customs with continued great ease. <BR> <BR>Enjoy your studies!

Jim Rosenberg

What a great summer you have planned! While it's true that the amount of wine you can technically bring back without paying duty is very limited, as the poster above notes, I would suggest you bring back more than that. It's not a matter of how much you are "allowed" to bring, but how much you can bring without being obligated to pay additional duty and the duty is not all that high. So you're right: it WOULD be a shame not to bring back more than one bottle. Personally, I've never been able to leave with less than four and I often bring home as much as a case. Just declare what you bring on your customs form when you come back. Even if you would be required to pay duty, the wine will still end up costing you far less than it would have been here and I would be willing to bet that you will simply be waived through without paying any duty at all. (Of course, if you end up paying your air carrier for excess baggage as well, then your cost-effectiveness would begin to diminish).

Ed

Note that most airlines (all?) will not often (ever?) check wine. So you'll be somewhat limited in what you bring back as a practical matter. <BR> <BR>Duty, even if assessed, is quite small. (75 year old Mouton Rotschild would be an exception.) <BR> <BR>Note, however, you may well be violating your states' liquor laws. <BR> <BR>twenj

KC

I work for a French multinational. Worked in France for a couple of years and have been back in the States for the last 10, traveling back and forth a fair amount. Everyone assumes that it's a deal to bring French wine back. You may luck out, but I have often compared prices and found no price difference worth the trouble of carrying the wine back. <BR>The only wine I bring back is that of a couple favorite Bourgogne estates I haven't been able to find in the U.S. It comes down to this---if you don't really know wines, it could go either way, cost more or cost less, taste better than whatever you drink here or taste worse.

Rex

If an airline "refuses" to check wine, I suppose that would be because the wine is in a labelled wine box or something. <BR> <BR>I just returned from rome, and for about the tenth time, my (checked) rollaboard suitcase contained 12 securely padded bottles of wine. You could "hear" that the bag contained (a) liquid(s) with gentle or vigorous shaking. No questions asked no refusal from Northwest Airlines on their Rome-Detroit flight when I presented this bag to be checked. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>

chris

U. S. Custome allows you to bring back <BR>one 1 liter bottle per person. You must pay duty on any other bottles over the limit. <BR> <BR>In reality most customs people won't <BR>bother you if you bring in more-especially if you keep it in a <BR>suitcase. <BR> <BR>You may want to bring bubble wrap and <BR>wrap each bottle very carefully-make <BR>sure you carry it on-don't check the bag. <BR> <BR>Wine purchased at the Vineyards is much <BR>cheaper than the local wine store. You <BR>are going to one of the best wine regions of the world-don't miss the <BR>wine tours. <BR>

Roger

Also, no sulfites unlike USA wine.

elvira

Absolutely check your state's laws; U.S. Customs is obligated to act under states' laws when it comes to liquor. Yes, the Feds say bring back as much as you want for personal consumption, pay duty on everything over one litre. *My* state says no more than one litre or it's confiscated; I've brought back 2 bottles but I wouldn't push my luck (if the state confiscates one bottle, boohoo; if it confiscates a case, aaarrggghhh). <BR> <BR>If you live in a weird state like mine (don't bring in French wine, but it's ok to carry sidearms in a grocery store), you could ask a local liquor store to 'import' it for you under their ABC license. <BR> <BR>Clothing makes great packing material for bottles.

Louise

You're allowed to bring 1 liter per person back into the country from aboard when you travel. It doesn't matter what the liquor is, wine or scotch or whatever. My husband and I brought back around the limit, give or take a 750 ml bottle of wine. After touring (read shopping) the Heritage Whisky Distillery in Edinburgh and wineries in Bordeaux, France, we were not about to take any chance checking our precious cargo with an airline. But we learned the hard way that liquor in glass bottles is heavy and tough to carry-on and stuff in the overhead compartments. This is not an experience we're going to repeat anytime soon. So I'd suggest, using FedEx Express International Customer Services to ship your vino home. You can call them aboard at 0800123800 (toll free) anywhere in Great Britain, France, or Germany and find the nearest drop off location, or if you'll be in another country, get that country's toll free number by calling Int'l Customer Service from the US before going at 1-800-247-4747. The only hitch to buying and shipping wine while you're in Europe is that you must buy from a licensed dealer or distributor and ship to a licensed dealer or distributor back home. You can't ship it directly to yourself, but must make some arrangemenet with your friendly, neighbor beverage shoppe ahead of time to receive your booty. It's definately worth it, the selection and prices are dismal here compared to what you'll see in Europe.