Bringing Wine back from Italy
 

I will be visiting Italy in April and will be visiting several wineries in Tuscany. I am looking to ship at least one case of Brunello back to the USA from one of the wineries we will be visiting (this winery has indicated 120 euro shipping charge per case).

My question is multi-part:

1) with the new laws, not being allowed to carry on liquids, how many bottles of wine can i place in my luggage?

2) i understand that you are allowed one liter free (duty free), then all others are taxed, i believe 3% charge.

3) if i would pay the winery to box up a case of wine, as they would to ship it overseas, and i brought the case of wine with me as part of my luggage, would an airline allow me to bring this as a second piece of luggage on the flight (we are flying Alitalia).

4) what other costs might be associated with bringing home a case of wine from Italy.

5) would it be simpler to just pay the 120 euro shipping charge, seems kinda high at 10 euro per bottle, but the prices of wine in italy are much less than the same wine we would be purchasing here in the states.

6) there are four of us traveling, all of no relation. if we brought a case back, could we all state that the bottles are split amongst us and not be required to pay a duty tax.

i know lots of questions, but thank you in advance for any advice offered.....

Hi G,

>1) As much as you can stuff in. However, the airlines are restricting the weight of checked luggage. You MAY NOT bring any in a carryon.

2) The tax is so low that Customs officers generally don;t bother to calculate the duty. However
3) if i would pay the winery to box up a case of wine, as they would to ship it overseas, and i brought the case of wine with me as part of my luggage, would an airline allow me to bring this as a second piece of luggage on the flight (we are flying Alitalia).

4) what other costs might be associated with bringing home a case of wine from Italy.

5) would it be simpler to just pay the 120 euro shipping charge, seems kinda high at 10 euro per bottle, but the prices of wine in italy are much less than the same wine we would be purchasing here in the states.

6) there are four of us traveling, all of no relation. if we brought a case back, could we all state that the bottles are split amongst us and not be required to pay a duty tax.

I've packed as many as 10 bottles in my checked luggage. Bring lots of bubble wrap from home. The duty charge is so low I would not worry about it. Chances are your luggage will not be opened anyway. You can easily bring a case split between 4 people--that is only 3 bottles each and if with in the per person exempt limit, you would escape the (minimal) duty.

Can you have wine shipped to the state you live in? Even if yes, to me it would be much simpler to bring it home with you.

I would be more concerned with breakage than paying the small duty. Hence, the bubble wrap idea.

Don't know how that got posted.

Hi G,

>1) As much as you can stuff in. However, the airlines are restricting the weight of checked luggage. You MAY NOT bring any in a carryon.

2) The tax is so low that Customs officers generally don't bother to calculate the duty. However, BE SURE TO DECLARE WHAT YOU ARE BRINGING IN.

3) You will have to ask the airline. They each have their own rules.

4) A very high chance that if you don;t pack it right, you will have broken bottles.

5) would it be simpler to just pay the 120 euro shipping charge?
Absolutely. However, make sure that your State allows you to receive alcoholic beverages.

6) Yes, as long as you each declare what you are bringing in and have the separate sales slips. Otherwise you are trying to defraud the gummint, and they don't like that.

Are you certain that with the Euro at $1.25, buying your Brunello in Italy will save you sufficient to cover the hassle?

((I))

Hey ek,

My remark referred to my incomplete post, not to yours. :)

I'll offer a couple of observations based on several transits with wine as luggage.

You cannot, at present, carry wine on board but you can check it as luggage. Weight limitations do restrict you and you are totally responsible for packaging to avoid breakage. We have purchased boxes with styrofoam inserts and checked wine as luggage--and it has arrived successfully--but we have to be very careful of weight.

I have always declared the wine (as many as 16 bottles for 2 of us) and never been assessed any duty. In every instance that I have had wine shipped by common carrier--UPS or FedEx--I have had to pay duty to have the wine released--a suspicious hassle and nuisance. My guess is that a shipper must strictly play by the rules and will invite duty.

Re: Savings. I honestly think there is value in hand picking small lot vintages not widely distributed in the US, i.e. I think you can save $ but you must be very diligent. The wineries will maintain their retail price but I have encountered shops and purveyors who have had widely divergent prices. There is the thrill of the "hunt" and the subsequent enjoyment later on of recalled experiences as well as the unique wine--much more special than a local purchase at home.

I highly recommend pricing wine you might encounter in Italy, here before you go but with the euro dropping you may find values in Italy at present. Cin Cin! Paul

In six trips back from Europe I have brought back 6 bottles each time. I put each bottle in a sock and arrange them in the middle of the suitcase. Never had a bottle break and customs never did anything and I declared them.

As to shipping the wine home, here in Michigan all wine must come through an importer. Michigan law and I am sure all the states are different on this. I remember about 10 years ago I ordered a bottle of wine in the internet and it came from Florida and went through an importer in Detroit before it came to me. I would check what the requirements are in your state.

Here's the map for wine shipments.
http://www.freethegrapes.org/state_laws.html

I hope you do not live in the state of Washington. It is illegal to have alcoholic beverages shipped into Washington State, this includes purchasing online, as Washington is a controlled state and all spirituous liquor must be purchased through the Washington State Liquor Control Board

Technically, importing wine is a function of the state through which you clear customs. Custom officials will enforce whatever state laws are in place at your port of entry.

I believe the argument for carrying wine in one's luggage likely encompasses travel bragging rights more than anything else (to wit: I got this bottle on my last trip to Italy). Acknowledging the large number of wine producers in Italy and France, the wine importing market is quite mature and there is virtually nothing you cannot obtain through US import sources if you really want it.

None the less if your palate is sufficiently sensitive to honestly distinguish the produce differentiation among producers of Brunello or Amarone for example, study the requirements of your state of entry and pack your suitcase as full as possible:

http://www.hqusareur.army.mil/opm/state.htm

DH is a BIG wine enthusiast, so this comes up every time we visit France or Italy. He rarely brings wine back, however. Many of the vintages/producers that he would buy, he can get back home (mostly through K&L wines, which is located in California but will ship to wherever it's legal). At times, the more rare wines or years that he would be interested in, the producer has already sold out of. We primarily bring back (in our luggage) wines that I have a particular fondness for, because we visited the place, that we would have a hard time getting in the U.S.

When visiting producers, even if we buy a bottle or two, we make sure that we have the name of their U.S. importer, so we can buy more of the wine back home. We love to support, in particular, the small producers! For me, even if the wine is purchased in the U.S., it makes a meal more special when DH tells me that the wine he bought from K&L is from a particular producer that we visited, and I can remember the day, the location, the people,...

Would it make sense to just take extra large zip-lock type bags and bubble wrap --> place a bottle in each bag with some bubble wrap --> and just place multiple bottles in between the clothes in your luggage?

That is my usual mode of transporting wine. I also bring sheets of bubble wrap and line my suitcase with these.