Shipping Liquor

I have never bought any wine in Europe to be shipped home to the US, but when I was in Spain a couple of years ago, a winery I visited said they could ship for you.

Expect it, however, to be rather expensive. In fact, I think you might find that the shipping costs more than the wine. Could be wrong, but FedEx, DHL, etc. international is very pricey.

Something else you will want to check out in advance is whether your state allows alcohol to be shipped in. Some states don't allow it.

Ugh...a little further research led me to realize I could get ballpark estimates at UPS's and DHL's websites. Apparently "insanely expensive" was indeed the right choice of words in my first post!

Plan B is now to shop for liquor on my last couple of days in Paris and schlep it to the airport and check it as baggage.

-- Amy

Well if price were no object you could have shipped it to Georgia. It looks like the law passed in 2008. There's an interesting Wine Spectator column on this complex situation. Check it out. http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/Shipping-Laws-State-by-State_1049

Pam

Have you tried to find a European supplier who will ship to you? That would be lots easier than lugging bottles home. I would check with a big liquor store in Atlanta first and get the name of a wholesaler/supplier. Or try the internet - it can't hurt and maybe you'll get lucky and find an importer. Or buy overseas and have the stuff sent over here via cargo ship in a small crate. You could probably pick it up in Savannah or someplace close. Perhaps you can get some other families interested in sharing the cost.

Don't buy just yet. The state of Georgia only allows you to personally bring in up to 1/2 gallon of alcohol. Customs agents not only enforce federal regulation but also the state rules as well.

This is assuming you are re-entering the U.S. in Georgia. If you are entering first in another state, you must obey those state laws as well.

If you want to bring in more, you have to get the winery or shop to ship it directly to you.

With due respect to Frank in regards to Customs and the enforcement of State Liquor Laws; you would need to first check the laws of the State that will be your Port of Entry or first stop in the US. Most States have a pass-through exclusion for any alcohol that you would take through an airport enroute to another state. It is certainly possible that if Atlanta were your destination and your Port of Entry, that State laws may be enforced. However, in numerous trips and obviously excess volumes of alcohol, US Customs has yet to enforce any limits in my experience. It is certainly a risk, and in compliance with ETBD BB guidelines, I must inform you that even without enforcement, you are responsible for following any laws of your State. I, for example, found that any bottles of wine that I brought back, I was responsible for putting on a label warning pregnant women of the dangers of alcohol. But seriously, you are much more likely to get bottles back in checked luggage as opposed to shipping.

In 2005 I shipped 110 bottles of wine to ATL and had to pay GA liquor tax of roughly $68 dollars, in advance of my shipment. In turn, Ga sent me a clearance letter. Once in the US, the shipment was held in a US customs bonded warehouse until I cleared US customs (had to present my letter from GA). Yes, this was for personal consumption:)

Additionally, here's an episode I observed in ATL last Feb. If you shop duty free, make sure you put all liquor in your checked luggage once you arrive in ATL and clear customs. You'll have to re-check your luggage and re-screen (yes, even if your destination is ATL). If you exceed your 'carry-on' liquid limit TSA will confiscate it. I saw them escort off a 20 something young lady and her liter of tequila as she tried desperately to explain she didn't understand.

Paul...you may want to look closely as to why I posted Georgia's law...the OP lives there.

There are many people who come on this board saying "it never happened to me" or "I got away with it"--whether it be alcohol, pickpockets, etc--it's best to know the law because you might be the one singled out. (I've escorted enough groups through customs to see quite a bit of alcohol confiscated--and I'm talking about as little as one bottle. It's really up to the customs officer.)

If you want to bring that much alcohol back into the U.S. and into Georgia, why not just check to see what the actual law is with the state government and find out if there is a way around it. (Permits, letters, etc.)

With absolutely no knowledge of the specific kind of Grand Marnier, be assured that the CDG duty free shops are open anytime there's an outgoing flight.

When you arrive. The first question is do you have anything to declare? If yes, the next questions are where have you been and where are you going? The inspectors deal with a lot of variables based on those two questions.

Here's what (I think) I know. One liter for each adult is duty free. Has to be checked because you can't carry on a liter of liquid so pack carefully. Anything beyond a liter will have duty. State rules also apply, depending on where you live, your rules may be more restrictive. If you bring in too much, the inspector may deem it is for "other than personal use" and make you get a permit to import. USPS won't ship alcohol so your choices for shipping are limited and expensive.

It's best to bring it with you, don't bring so much it creates doubt whether it's for personal use, know your state's limits, and pay duty on anything over a liter each.

I don't think buying something at the duty free shop necessarily means it will be duty free (if it's over your duty free limit). I haven't purchased enough at a duty free shop to know for sure.

Thanks to everyone for the great discussion and ideas. I've realized that my situation gets slightly more complicated since I'm not actually flying back into Atlanta (I'm flying standby and don't yet know where I'm flying back into - either ORD, MIA or DFW). Worst case scenario, I could get laid over in one of those other cities and need to go through customs there in order to leave the airport and check into a hotel. That would leave me dealing with the laws of whatever state I'm flying into.

I have a connection in the liquor industry who may be of help, so I'll contact him when I get back and see if he knows someone who can arrange importation of larger quantities. If not, I guess I'll just have to go back soon :-)

The current plan is to bring back a couple of bottles like I usually do, check them in my bag and declare them at customs, paying any duty they decide to charge.

-- Amy...leaving in ~72 hours