bring back wine

It is expensive and complicated so IMO it is not worth bring back more than you can carry in your checked luggage. First, the state has to allow wine to be shipped and I would assume NY does since it is a bit more liberal and has a wine industry. Second, there is a limit of about 4 bottles that are duty free but the duty on the extra wine is small and not a big issue. If you want to send wine home you need to work with a shop that regularly does that so that the paper work is properly done. You can probably save the VAT which would help to off set the cost of shipping but it will still be expensive. And you have no guarantee that the shipping would be done in a manner that would prevent damage to the wine.

I bring back wine and Grappa on every trip, claim it on the US form, and never had a problem.
If 2 of us are travelling, have brought back a total of 8 bottles, and have saved a lot of $$ over US rack prices. What I do is to pack a duffle inside my bag, fill it with excess dirty clothes, and lovingly wrap 4 bottles in my roll-a-board, which I check(have ff free bag checking) and then re-live by trip until my next visit. I buy in the super mercados in both places as they usually have a good selection at very good prices. Have checked their prices against duty free, and the savings are worth it. For example, 1 liter of Lemochello bought in Sorrento for 10E was 18E for the same thing in Rome duty free at FCO.

we are doing the rick steves pack light concept and packing two small bags.. not sure there will be very much room in the checked bag for lots of wine.. I guess we could carry two bottles each but was hoping to bring back more..; I guess the shipping really is a problem.. also we will be traveling around from london to paris to venice to tuscany and florence then to switzerland and back home.. all mostly by train so don't really want to be lugging lots of wine throughout the trip.. thus the thought of shipping.

I may be wrong, but I think if the winery has a contact with a distributor in the US you may be able to ship. It may be more expensive, but if it's a wine you love..

I am likely in the minority, but IMHO, it's never worth the hassle to try and figure out how to haul wine home, and by the time you figure out shipping it's per bottle an extravagant expense. It tastes better while you're drinking it in Paris or Italy, and after being shipped in who knows what conditions (temperature affects wine), it won't taste the same at home. Yes, true, some wine you cannot get here, but I've found perfectly decent French and Italian wines in the US for reasonable cost (and frankly, you can't beat an Oregon pinot noir, so I really don't find myself drinking many imports).

There is a wwine I thought I might get in France cheaper than here because here it is way too dear but sounds like not worth it Also we wanted to bring back some for wine loving friends so thus thinquiry We love wine but our systems don't tolerate it well so we drink very little. Such a shame as we r going to we in two of the greatest wine regions in the world! Most likely will bring back one or two bottles just thought the shipping might be worth exploring thanks al@l

You have a couple of options. First, carry it with you. The best part is the cost. If it fits as part of your checked luggage allowance, it's free. Even if your carrier charges for a bag, it's likely much cheaper than shipping. Another carry it with you option is to buy from the duty free shops in the airport after security. Remember duty free is really only on one liter per adult in your party, you may still be charged a small duty for larger amounts. CBP enforces both federal and state laws. Some states with wine industries (like New York or California) have protective laws that also limit your ability to bring home wine. If the CBP officer deems your wine to be for resale (could happen if you bring home a lot), you have to pay more than just a duty. Mailing it home is probably less of an option than just asking a local wine store to order you some - you will probably spend less, per bottle, than mailing it home.

We just returned from France with 6 bottles of wine in checked luggage. I never buy wine in France to bring home merely to save money. Instead, I try to bring home some wines from wineries we've visited and which are not available in the US, especially if there's a story behind the wine. Basically they're drinkable souvenirs. Before they were banned from hand luggage we brought back as many as 9 bottles, always declared them, and never had to pay duty.

Just an fyi - neither UPS nor Fedex will accept shipments of alcoholic beverages from private individuals. As several have mentioned, the best method is to bring it home yourself in your checked baggage, packed in such a way as to prevent breakage.

Robert's point is good. Technically, you can bring one liter of alcohol (wine or liquor) per adult without paying duty. The actual duty on a bottle of wine isn't much and the process for determining the duty is like trying to decipher IRS rules (If you're interested, I think it's online) . It's more man hours to determine the duty than it's worth. Probably 999 out of 1000 times, you will be passed through without being charged a duty - but it's probably not something you should take for granted. The bigger risks (if you pack a lot) are either not being allowed to bring it into the country, because of your particular state's rules, or the agent making you get an importer's license (rare but can happen) because you are packing so much. This isn't going to happen because of six bottles, but several cases can be a different story (normally when people drive into the country with wine/liqour in their trunk). Best advice is always declare everything, you're only in trouble if you try to bring something in without declaring it.

We've purchased wine and olive oil in Italy and had it shipped. In 4 instances, the wineries did the shipping. Not cheap, but we weren't buying wine to save money; we were buying wine to share at special meals with friends when we return home. We are not big souvenir buyers, so wine is our opportunity to be excessive. The 5th place we bought wine was in a fabulous enoteca in Montalcino where they have 100 wines available for tasting. You pay a small tasting fee per wine, but there is no charge if you buy wine. There, we found some wines with shipping Included in the price so the up-charge wasn't as dramatic for shipping. My accountant husband figures if we aren't buying groceries, gas or Starbucks at home for 3 weeks, he's got all that cash to use on wine. Gotta love the logic.