Thursday, April 12, 2012

Bringing wine back to US

Are we able to carry back wine from France or are we still not allowed to carry liquid on international flights, if allowed how many bottles can we bring. If not what%26#39;s the best way to bring back bottles of wine.




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I am so curious about this too! So I%26#39;ll be watching for the answers to come on through!




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You are able to carry anything you like - in your checked luggage; could give a whole new meaning to wine stains on your tie.





As for carry-on luggage, as long as you purchase it after you have cleared security, it%26#39;s OK; selection somewhat limited.





Outside of bragging about look what I bought when I was in France, the real question is why would anyone want to carry wine? The common consensus among many serious wine collectors (and local ISG members) is that any French wine that you may really want is readily available in the US and very competitively priced without having to be schlepped through airports.





Hermès scarves weight a lot less and do not leak.




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LOL





reminds me of the bottle of olive oil we bought right at the farm in Italy -- lug it back -- apparently we got the garbage they sell tourists they won%26#39;t see again -- certainly not the stuff we tasted -- and of course, once I looked around my small not very cosmopolitan southern city I found that you could by a couple dozen imported olive oils -- without lugging a giant oily bottle and risking ruining a whole overhead bin





I once sat about 6 rows back from an overhead bin disaster on an international flight that involved leaking red wine and many disgruntled passengers




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Legally you can bing back one liter of wine or liquor per adult without incurring duty. In practice, as long as you declare it, it is unlikely that you will be charged duty on a half dozen bottles, but you *could* be. As has been pointed out whatever you bring back will have to travel in checked baggage. Even buying your wine after security won%26#39;t work if you have a connecting flight in the US. Whatever you acquire that way will have to be placed in your checked luggage for your onward flight after you have cleared customs.



Legally you cannot ship wine to yourself and it is well-nigh impossible to have it shipped to a licensed importer. Even if you could find someone to ship it, the cost would make the whole idea rather uninteresting.



Botom line is that these days even bringing back something so unusual that you couldn%26#39;t find it anywhere in the US is probably more of a hassle than it is worth. Maybe a single bottle of good armagnac or something of the sort if you have room for it...




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I think the only wine I would bring back to the U.S. was something unique that I would find by visiting a winery and not available in the U.S.




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We went to Italy 3 years ago and successfully brought back 6 bottles of wine (and 2 bottles of Limoncello) in our checked luggage...we wrapped it up in our clothes to protect it (mind you, they were our clothes we didn%26#39;t care might get ruined!) and they were completely safe...believe me, we were dreading the red stain that might appear as our luggage emerged from the claim area. Needless to say, everything was just fine. We probably would not have brought back so much, but we stayed at a vineyard and knew we would not be able to purchase their tasty wine in the states. We also brought back a couple bottles for close friends.





We are leaving for Paris next week, and I am guessing that we will be bringing back one or two bottles as I am 4 months pregnant and won%26#39;t get to have my share of red wine while we are there....so we%26#39;ll open a bottle to celebrate when the baby is born.





Also, we did not have to pay duty on any of the wine, but we were honest and prepared to pay...they let us by.




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You%26#39;ll have to check it in these days.



Dedicated styrofoam wine carrier cartons work well in check-in luggage. They%26#39;re bulky as hell and the wine %26amp; bottles still weigh a ton.



My wine-expert wife is determined to bring wine back from Burgundy on our next trip here. I%26#39;m still mostly clueless...with wine too and am really wondering if the Burgundy wines that go for $100 per bottle on US shelves will be a better bargain at all from French shelves...and if they%26#39;re even worth that much for drinking...




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I was curious so, here are the taxes levied above 1 liter:





Duty is generally 3% of value and the IRS excise tax is generally between 21-31cents per 750ml bottle of wine, 67 cents/champaigne, and $2.14/ hard liquor.





Still doesn%26#39;t mean that you could bring a cargo but it%26#39;s in the %26quot;personnal use%26quot; section.





Not much...so unless you know what you looking for and the prices at home, it%26#39;s probably harder to make a deal unless youre looking for an old vintage which might be more accessible overseas.




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Here%26#39;s a sample of some research that I did at the WineClub, an excellent distributor here in California and their prices.





Bouchard Pere %26amp; Fils Chevalier Montrachet. 2005. $148



Château de la Maltroye Bâtard Montrachet. 2004. $160



Domaine Leflaive Bâtard Montrachet. 2004. $230.





I put together a huge spreadsheet with this information. I%26#39;m looking forward to seeing what%26#39;s going on. I am making an appointment with one of these guys.




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You are not supposed to be able to bring it in your carry-on unless purcahsed in the airport.







Funny thing though - security in the CDG airport is really not that great, at least in Terminal 1. My friend ended up moving some olive oil from her suitcase to carry-on to lighten the load - she already had the wine in her carry-on not even thinking about the new regulations. She realized it after getting through security - but the security guards didn%26#39;t care, they even went through her bag. We saw a girl walk on with a water bottle full of sand and sea water (I assume from Normandy beaches).







the shops at CDG 1 are before the security point so, possibly that%26#39;s why they didn%26#39;t question my friends wine and olive oil.





I wouldn%26#39;t chance it though - pack it in the suitcase.

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