When I was in Ireland the first time, I purchased a well-aged bottle of whisky and a bottle of mead, and paid to have them shipped home (I was on my first day of a long vacation traveling solo, didn't want to carry them from B&B to B&B).

It never got there, and I wasted my money. First, it got sent back at customs for not having a phone number on it. Then it got broken in shipping. Nine months later was much too late to dispute the charge. Never again!

Hi all,

Whether its $10 or 10E per bottle, I still suggest bringing home 6 bottles in your carryon luggage (At worst, 3 bottles in our luggage and 3 bottles as "personal items" in a tote bag).

Two people can bring home a case for free, and you can be sure it will get there.

((I))

I brought back from Italy a case of wine in my checked baggage (cardboard box with styrofoam cylinders). Wineries make/sell them especially for overseas shipping. You are allowed 2 pieces of checked baggage per person. Additionally, I carried 10 bottles with me on the airplane - 6 in a 6-carton carry box, and 4 in my backpack. ((b))

Oh, by the way, I was ready & willing to pay the customs, but was never asked to stop and waived right thru.

Customs on still wine is very cheap. Probably not worth the time and effort to do the paperwork. ((b))

Budman, I am curious about what wines people are bringing home. Is the reason to shlep all of those bottles primarily for the savings or because they are not available in your state or country? Thanks! This whole topic has caught my interest since I will be in Spain in a month or so. I also cannot imagine that customs would bother anyone who is bringing in wine for personal use.

Hi ekscrunchy
>I am curious about what wines people are bringing home. Is the reason to shlep all of those bottles primarily for the savings or because they are not available in your state or country? <

The savings aren't that great. The wine is, however, much better than the plonk available in Georgia, USA.

>I also cannot imagine that customs would bother anyone who is bringing in wine for personal use. <

The rule are 1L per person, duty free.

Once upon a time, the duty on alcohol was very, very high. It is now down to about 10% or less. It's no longer worthwhile to calculate the duty.

((I))

Although on one trip into NYC (a long time ago), after being held up in customs for about 2 hr, I had to pay under $2.00 in duty.

The wines I brought back were Reserves (3-4 years in the barrel/bottle), and the price was very reasonable. They may or may not be available here in the States. I liked them, so I bought them. I wouldn't run around the NY/NJ area to try to hunt them down. :-)

The duty on still wines back in 1979 was 10 cents a bottle. Certainly wasn't 10% -- maybe for spirits. Don't know what it is now, and don't really care. I have never brought enough wine/spirits back from my trips to worry about the amount I would have to pay for customs. ((b))

As long as we're discussing shipping wine, will someone comment about the longevity of some of the local wines? I've heard that some don't travel well-what's the story????

It also depends on where you live; we can get virtually any wine here in NYC so it makes very little sense to ship. Carrying is another issue.

Ira, I am not sure where you live in Georgia. But it is worth keeping in mind that your local merchant is able to order any wine for you that is distributed into your state so just because you do not see it on the shelf does not mean it is unavailable to you. I would imagine that the upscale restaurants in Atlanta have some pretty good wine on their lists and if they can get it, so can your local wine guy..just ask him to order it for you.

Budman... you are my kind of traveler! I'm thinking of buying a hard sided suitcase to bring back wine. I could carry some, it would probably quadruple my current pitiful weight training.

I am taking note that you are carrying Reserves. Does that actually mean something in France? I think often that label here is more marketing than description.

Thanks

ekscrunchy, I agree shipping is not the answer -- very expensive. It would have cost me about $160 to ship the case of wine I bought, but putting it as a piece of luggage on my flight home for free was a no-brainer.

Danna, for most bottled wines, the grapes are picked in Sep/Oct/Nov of a particular year, fermented and barrelled for aging, and bottled about 9-10 months later.

Some of your better wines are aged in the barrel for 2 years before bottling. There is a sort of a chemical reaction between the wine and the oak (American or French) barrels that make it more refined. I'm not a chemist, but that's what I have been told from the experts.

The Reserves I bought in Italy were aged in Slovakian oak for about 2.5 to 3 years, and bottled and released 6 months later. They were really good.

I'm not sure what that means in France, but that's what it means in Italy. ((b))

If you live in NJ, no.

French wines do not say reserve on the label as they do in Italy and in Spain but they are also aged in the barrel or barrique as in Italy.

i often check one or two cases of wine as checked luggage on my return home from europe.....the boxes described above with the sytrofoam inserts are fabulous....i find the wine travels very well this way....i also have carried some in my carry on luggage...this too works well but is heavy....

the last two times i have done it was just before christmas....i always declare it....both times the boston customs agent said to me: "merry christmas"....other times i have paid duty and it was very small...

the wines you are able to bring home cost very little and are comparitively better than the standard things you buy for 5 times more here at your local distributor...

Those boxes sound great...but can you get away with no overweight if you check cases of wine on the plane?

If a husband and wife are traveling together, they are allowed 4 pieces of checked baggage, 50 lbs each piece. With only 2 pieces of luggage and 2 cases of wine -- should be no problem. A case of wine weighs less than 50 lbs. ((b))

Hi donco
>.. will someone comment about the longevity of some of the local wines? I've heard that some don't travel well-what's the story????<

This is less true than it was even 10 years ago, but we had some wines on our recent trips to Italy and France that were still made the old way and didn't go more than 50 mi from home.

Hi ekscrunchy,
>Ira, I am not sure where you live in Georgia. But it is worth keeping in mind that your local merchant is able to order any wine for you that is distributed into your state ...<

GA is divided among 4 distributors, each with its own exclusive territory. Some wines available in Atlanta aren't available in Athens, etc.

Also, we have very conservative tastes here in the back woods. Dozens of Chardonnay, Cab, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Shiraz.... Some Sauvignon Blanc and Fume Blanc. Note that it's all varietals.

Drinkable European wines are expensive.

((I))

Ira I don't know your tastes, nor the distributor in your area...do you happen to know? My point was to let you know that no matter what everyone else's taste is in Athens or wherever you live, your wine store can order anything for you that is distruted in his area. Because you do not see it on the shelf of the store does not mean you cannot get it...the merchant can order it for you. Many people are not aware of this..they assume that the only wines available to them are those that they see on the shelves.

I don't know what you mean the good Old World wines are expensive. What is "expensive?' I would be curious to compare the prices to see if the wines are really much more expensive than here in NYC. Or maybe we just have different parameters for price. In NYC we can get some pretty good Bordeaux for $10.

I agree that the wines one can <i>get</i>, and those that one sees stocked (even on an irregular basis) are two hugely different things.

What are the reasons to bring wines back home from overseas?

One, to recapture and savor the memories/experiences of having tasted/selected them in Europe. I try to follow the principle of &quot;taste three (or maybe a few more), choose one (that you like best), and buy three (or more) of that one label to take home - - a taste that you will know you like, (possibly) remember what it tastes like and what foods it will accompany best... and be able to look forward to enjoying again.

and...

Two - - an odd snob thing (for me at least), but I really enjoy having a wine rack filled with wines that do NOT say, &quot;Imported by XYZ brothers, abcville, New Jersey&quot;. I have wines that are imported by <i><b>me</b></i>, and their labels can not exist, legally, in any store in America where I might be able to buy the same thing. Smugly cool, in my view.

Rex: Why don't you have some inexpensive labels printed up with your name as the importer? Now THAT would allow you to be smug.