Well, if I was going to counterfeit labels (as if that would be easy to do...)

...they would say for <b>produced</b> <i><u>for</u></i>...

;)

I didn't mean to print an entire label..just a small one that would say, &quot;Imported by Rex....&quot; Just as there are sometimes separate small labels affixed to the back of the bottles signifying the importer. Well you can still be smug even if you don't have your own label.

But 99% of the (imported) bottles I see in my local wine shop already have the &quot;XYZ brothers&quot; name pre-printed on the back label that comes from the winery.

Well there is always that 1 percent. I know I have seen many with the label stuck on seprate from the mian one but now you have me thinking...maybe I have seen this more often in Europe. I will check the store tomorrow and get back so you can go ahead with your smugsy plans!

Ira, I don't know you well enough to know if you are kidding. And, since I've read that there's a high percentage of people who stay within 50 miles of their birth, your 50 mile comment gives me additional pause!
Seriously folks, are there local wines that lose their taste rather quickly???

Donco: There are some wines that are meant to be drunk fairly soon after harvest. These would include the wines called &quot;nouveau&quot; in France or &quot;novello&quot; in Italy. Beyond that, there are many wines that simply do not age well and so you should drink them when they are freshest, rather than after they have been aged in the bottle. It does not matter how far from the source you carry them, what matters is the age at which you drink these wines. Many of them are not shipped far from their source because of this reason...they are made for, and meant to be consumed in large part, by local people. The belief that wine cannot be drunk far from its source may have originated in the days when long sea voyages were the norm. There is no such thing as a 50 mile limit. Beaujolais Nouveau, whatever one's opinions of this wine, is an example of a young French wine that is widely exported by air around the third week of November each year, and by sea a few weeks later, and must be consumed within a month or two of its bottling.

Sorry if this attempted explanation is a bit convoluted... I think I am ready for a rest!

For all you serious and not so serious wine lovers, here is the reason you bring back as much wine as you can -

WINE FOR EXPORT IS TREATED WITH SULFITES! ALL THE IMPORTED WINES IN USA FROM FRANCE, OR WHEREVER ARE NOT QUITE THE SAME.

I prefer my wine without sulfites and unless somebody can tell me where in NYC it is possible to do this, then I doubt it. I have sp[oken with several importers who have confirmed this. While not having sulfite may reduce shelf life in some people's minds, I have wine that has lasted for years as long as it is stored properly.

Make sure it is packed prperly, those cardboard boxes with handles that hold a few bottles can break. A good wine merchant overseas knows how to pack the wine for you to bring home.

I once looked into shipping wine to the US from a few countries and quickly discovered that the costs were not worth it. There were also additional problems of trying to find a way to have the wine shipped in temperature controlled conditions and insurance against breakage. Fortunately I live in a state that allows me to buy from a huge selection of wines so I no longer think about shipping wines into the US. Sulfites are not an issue but simply another of the many myths about wine. All wines contain some sulfites as a natural byproduct of fermentation. Almost all wineries everywhere in the world use SO2 except for a few rare organic
wineries that do not. One tends to get the impression that wines in the EU have no sulfites as they are not required to label their wines as the US and Australia do.

I forgot to add that as of November 2005, the EU is requiring a label on wine bottles if the level of sulfites is greater than 10mg/liter. This is the same criteria as the US. Do not know when this will actually start.

NYerr...I don't want to belabor this because it was discussed here in a very long thread not long ago. As MJS said, ALL wines have sulfites in them. And the vast majority have them added as a preserving agent, without which the wine would not be able to remain drinkable. The only wines which do not have them added are the so-called organic wines. We may have different wines on the shelves here than they do in Europe, for example, but a winery in the Piedmont, for example, does not make an American version of the same wine for export. And bottle of Bordeaux,1996 Chateau La Louviere, for example, is the same one on the shelf in NYC than it is on the shelf in Arcins, given the correct storage and climate conditiions. They are not adding extra sulfites before they ship to the US or to Hong Kong.

Hi, I have only rarely brought back wine .--It usually doesn't last to bring back! I thought I might bring some home this trip, and I am certainly willing to pay the duty. I like the checked case idea. But I am wondering about the duty. How do they calculate the percentage? Do you keep receipts ready to show them? Does this hold you up signifigantly? Also, if flying from one country to another, (to stay in the next country for a period of time), do you have to pay duty in the second country also, or just back in the states? I am not thinking of bringing anything all that expensive. I would just like to extend the vacation experience a bit, and share with friends. Also, I don't know why, but I seem to notice something different about wines in Europe, be it sulfites or not. I don't get the stuffy nose, and sinus problems the next morning there!

&lt;&lt; But I am wondering about the duty. How do they calculate the percentage? Do you keep receipts ready to show them? &gt;&gt;

If it is not universal, it must be darn near, pepper...

.. no one I know on this forum has ever actually paid any duty, even with very direct efforts to declare the purchase(s). Waving on seems to be the rule.

&quot;All wines contain sulfites. Yeast naturally produce sulfites during fermentation so there is only a rare wine which contains none.
No other country requires a sulfte warning label (this may change soon), but nearly all winemakers add sulfites, including those in France, Italy, Spain, Australia, Chile, etc etc. So, the wine you drink in foreign countries contains sulfites, but you just are not being warned about it when purchased abroad. Survey studies show that European wines also contain an average of 80 mg/L sulfites.&quot;

http://waterhouse.ucdavis.edu/winecomp/so2.htm ((b))

Here's another article concerning some of the myths about sulfites -- everything you need to know but were afraid to ask. :-)

http://www.leeners.com/winemaking02.html ((b))

Thank you both for posting these links.

Here is a link to US Customs regarding what an individual traveler is allowed to import for personal use:

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/va..._exemption.xml

When on a trip to Burgundy a few years back, some of the people in our group decided it would be a good idea to ship back cases of wine. The winery said &quot;no problem&quot; with that and claimed it wouldn't cost them anything--&quot;duty free!&quot;
Well we knew that wasn't exactly true so we just bought a couple bottles to carry, and had no problems walking a few bottles through customs in the US. However, our friends had a big problem getting their stuff through US customs. They had to pay duty and I think probably a fine since the quantity was a problem. Our state had no restrictions on import, but when they got done with the whole deal, they said they paid about double what the wine cost in France due to all the shipping and duties. They said they would never do that again either.

The funny thing was the wine wasn't that great to begin with and it didn't age well, even in my controlled temp cellar. We opened a bottle a few years later and dumped it, since it was vinegar by then.

Thanks, ekscrunchy-that's exactly what I wanted to know.
Also, I spoke to a vintner in Pennsylvania who said (and I can't vouch for his info) that it's pretty much standard practice in this country to spread a sulfa compound over the crop to prevent rust. In addition to the sulfa inherent in grapes, additional &quot;life&quot; is given to the crop. Many people have problems with wine because of it. Interesting post. Thanks everyone! ((D))

First off, I would never &quot;ship&quot; wine home. You are opening yourself up to customs scrutiny. The winery that I bought my wine would ship a case of wine for 150 Euro per case, and label the customs documents as &quot;olive oil.&quot;

Secondly, I would hope someone would know what they were doing before shipping wine or bring wine back from Europe, unless one is independently wealthy. :-) ((b))

That's what I have been thinking..that the cases might be declared as olive oil rather than wine to get around customs. I agree that shipping wine abroad is not the best idea for the average person. unless next to nothing is available where they live and that scenario is hard to fathom.

I agree, the people cited did not know what they were doing. And both couples were independently wealthy. And they got wine that didn't age well.