Shipping Wine from Europe?
 

The last time I was in France, I found a wine that I love from the Alsace region that I have not been able to find in the States. I am going to France in December. I am considering shipping back several bottles of this wine. Has anyone ever shipped wine and if so what is the procedure? Directly from the store or do you take it to a post office/shipping store? In the past, I have always carried on a couple of bottles. Also, is it cost effective to ship it? I've looked into shipping items a few times while in Europe and it cost more to ship than the item itself.

It is quite expensive to ship. If you choose to do that, you can have the store or vineyard ship it. You may have to buy 6 or 12 bottles though. I was in Italy in March (it is probably comparable pricewise to France) and inquired about shipping. It was going to cost about $12 or $15 per bottle (in addition to the cost of the wine) to ship. For me, I couldn't justify it. I carry wine home with me every trip. There was a thread during the summer that talked about these styrofoam boxes you can buy so you can check the wine instead of carrying it. I think I posted on, I'll see if I can find it.
Have a fun trip!

We bring back 12-14 bottles of wine from Italy every time we go. We expand our suitcases and wrap the wine very well with our clothes. We usually carry 2-4 bottles in each of our backpacks and the rest in our suitcases. I've called customs every time before we leave and they really don't care unless you're have about 6 porters carrying wine for you. They don't even look at it, ever. Shipping is prohibitively expensive in my book.

The French Postal Service has a corrugated wine shipping box that will hold 6 bottles of wine, which you can check in on most airlines as checked luggage, or carry-on if you are flying business or 1st class. We first found the shipping boxes at 'La Dernière Goutte', a wine store in the 6th. It is very expensive to ship wines and depending on where you live, illegal unless you go through a State Liquor Store (WA, PA, MD, etc.).

Generally, US Customs doesn't say anything, but the official limit is one liter of alcohol per person, regardless of the value.

Thanks cls2paris for topping that other post. For some reason, I still can not figure out how to search past postings. I always get things totally unrelated to what I am trying to find.

I think I will stick to my trusty wine backpack and duffle bag. I can usually get about six bottles back that way. I did see those styrofoam boxes that Budman mentioned at my local wine store. Didn't look sturdy at all. I usually wrap mine in bubble wrap and I have a couple of those handled BYO insulated single totes that I wrap them in. I will just have to visit the chiropractor when I get back!

Robert
When you check that shipping box with your luggage does it come out on the baggage claim belt or do you have to pick it up somewhere else at the airport? We will be flying out of Nice with a connecting flight in Paris. I don't think I will try checking the wine this time but I will keep it in mind for the next time I go to Paris.
Thanks.

Parisnow - yes, I understand the chiropractor visit all too well! When I came home from Italy in March, I had 5 bottles of wine, a limoncello, 2 bottles olive oil and a bunch of potter - in my carry-on!!! I think it weighed more than the checked bag! As I am dragging it through the airports (2 plane changes), I questioned my intelligence and why I insist on bringing wine home. But, when I open that first bottle and have a sip I know I will do it again and again. Have fun - those Alsatian wines are not as easy to find here.

You must have seen some different styrofoam boxes than the ones I had since you didn't think they were sturdy. The ones the winery gave me were boxes with 6 styrofoam cylinders each. They take two of the boxes and strap them together to make a case. They use them for shipping back to the States, so checked baggage on the airplane was no problem. There was no hint the box had been damaged when I retrieved it at Newark, and walked right thru customs with the box on the luggage cart. ((b))