Last year I purchased a case of wine in Verona at a wine store and they shipped it to me in the states. I only purchased wines I cannot get here. It seemed widely available to do so in Italy. Is this readily available to do so in Paris and/or other regions in France?
Thank you.
It is possible, but with the new tariffs, who knows what will happen?
Indeed you will probably need to wait and see on this whether the winemaker or wine seller you are visiting is still bothering with shipping to the United States by the time of your visit
Contrary to what some people are lead to believe, it’s those who import the goods that have to pay the tariffs not those who send the goods. So if the OP buys a case of wine that costs $100, they’ll have to pay $120. $100 to the wine producer and $ 20 import duties to the US customs. Plus shipping costs of course.
So as far as the wine producer goes nothing changes. The only thing is that their products become more expensive for Americans.
As stated above, the individual receiving the shipment will pay Customs on arrival in the USA. Provided the shipment isn't denied.
Still, you can apply to receive a refund of the VAT from the State Gov't (France, Germany, etc.) which will refund 17-19% of the purchase price, and the Customs value should reflect that. My experience is that it's the shipping costs that add the most to anything of low or moderate value.
For the wine producer what happens is that as their product becomes more and more expensive for Americans, their ability to make sales decreases (as American clients stop buying some wines because they become too expensive), the winemaker's profitability decreases, and in turn perhaps they have to lay some employees off (or make other tough business decisions) because they can't make payroll or pay certain suppliers or whatever.
Those results are obviously probably a little further away than the visit of someone who is coming in a few weeks, but the likelihood is that these types of consequences will hit at least some producers in the next few months / years.
I understand the tariff issues and I'll decide if I even want to when the time comes - this fall. I'm just asking if there are wine shops or businesses that do this? It was offered in many wine shops in Italy and I'm wondering about the ability to do so in France (French laws).
Yes, many vineyards that deal with tastings and sell direct will arrange shipping as well. The little shop in the village that sells wine? That may be hit or miss. The main criteria is the extent that they deal with tourists. Sounds like you were successful before, so likely your State allows, but that is the other wildcard, some states will not allow alcohol shipments, and the various vineyards and shops can not track the various laws of 50 states and several more territories.
