Steven:

Can't tell you what things are like post-9/11, but before, I never had any trouble. Went on a Caribbean cruise in college; came into Port of Miami holding a case of booze . . . just looked the customs agent straight in the eye, and told her that I had nothing to declare.

While Al's idea of food sounds good, in actuality, there are many food items (mainly perishables, like meats and produce) which people are forbidden from bringing into the country. And I've seen stories about specially-trained sniffer dogs which are used by the Agriculture department at airports to detect such items. Frankly, you'd have much better luck bringing in booze.

But I have a question that's kind of along the same thread --

I have made numerous trips (it's not terribly far for me) to Windsor, Ontario, to hit the duty-free shops. Since I always bring back more than what you're supposed to, I was wondering if anyone has been through the crossing since 9/11 . . . ?

Are things more strict? Are my booze smuggling days over . . . ?

Thanks!

I would advise against bringing in cheese. The Agriculture inspectors have food sniffing dogs and you will be caught. Bringing food into the US is a lot more dangerous (Bacteria, plant diseases) that a bottle of wine. One bottle will not be a real problem. Nobody cares with everything else that's going on. The cheese, however, will get you into real trouble.

Someone had a very good point. To the best of my knowledge, England is not known for its wines. Look for something that is more representative of England. Tea. David Winter cottages. I don't know. Ask one of your friends, or even ask one of their parents.

Yes, it's illegal to bring in cheese from many places, but for some reason I don't think the UK is one of them. Lets put it this way, the people at Neals Yard asked if I would be bringing it back, assured me it was perfectly legal, and packed it up nicely to survive the trip. I had my doubts, but put it in my carry-on, the customs guy saw it, knew it was cheese (it was pretty obvious) and he didn't say a word. So based on that I don't think customs will sic the sniffing beagle on you and if they do I doubt he'll be sniffing for English cheese.

Whatever you decide to do, at least pay them a visit and sample some cheese -- if you like cheese to begin with, that is.

I brought cheese from France (for my parents) on 9/21/01 without any problem. We declared it, they looked at it, and sent us on. It was a blue cheese, like Stilton.