shipping wine???

Will depend on your individual state's laws. For years, it was illegal to ship/mail liquor to Tennessee even from elsewhere within the US. Depending on the volume of wine, I would guess you could face duty charges (but others will need to advise you on that).

You can't ship it yourself. Neither UPS nor Fedex will accept alcoholic beverage shipments from private individuals. The best method is to carry it back yourself, but it has to go into your checked luggage. The other option would be to ask the overseas retailer to ship it for you. Depending on the quantity you bring back, you may have to pay some customs duty taxes. Your home state may also have restrictions on the quantity you can bring in.

We are in Ohio..... I guess duty taxxes it is.... Thanks!

If you bring it back yourself, be sure to it. Many people report that they are rarely charged duty since the amount isn't much and not worth customs official's time and effort. But even if you do pay, the amount is small. But if you don't and they find it, they will confiscate it. Double check the state laws of where you fly into (if it's not a direct flight into Ohio). Some people have reported losing their beverages due to state law at their arrival point. Having a winery ship direct is a good option and if they ship they should be aware of state import laws and whether they can ship to you. You might save the VAT but pay duty that way.

Irish wine? Or, as it looks here, double Irish wine? British wine? I know it exists, but?? French, I know... If you do carry it back, remember that a liter weighs, near enough, a kilogram, plus the weight of the glass and box.

The missing word in Douglas's post is de-clare. Have to split it up because the editor is trying to avoid word which might command the software so removes them. A different work around would be to misspell it, like deklare.

Nigel - British wine has come on in leaps and bounds over recent years, mainly in the white wine and sparkling sectors. In fact, in a recent blind taste a sparkling wine from the South Coast beat some of the prestigious champagne houses hands down. The growing conditions in the South are ideal for growing grapes used in champagne, so much so a lot of French companies are buying up large tracts of land to plant vineyards. If you're ever down South pop in to Wickham Vineyards and try some of their wines, fantastic selection but pricey!

You can bring back one liter of alcohol duty free, and anything over that can be charged duty at 3% (and possibly adding some taxes from the IRS, the customs site I was on wasn't clear how much that might be). When I traveled back from California a while back we bought a shipping box from a winery that held 12 bottles (was a very sturdy box with thick styrofoam with areas for each bottle) and checked it as part of our checked luggage. We didn't have to worry about any of the wine breaking in our suitcase. Of course, that was back when we could have 2 bags apiece without paying more, but even the $50 fee if you have to pay it would be less than the shipping charge.

Nigel - thanks for the correction. I'm surprised I didn't mis-spell it anyway ;-)

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/wine.htm This is Rick's advice on shipping wine home.