Shipping wine from France and Italy

Honestly, what I do is just buy those wonderful wines back here. You need to know what your state's regulations are for receiving shipped wine. Some states don't allow individuals to do it.

Charity,

i would be interested to hear about how people have done it too.

happy trails

I haven't shipped wines from Europe but did achieve a personal best last month packing four bottles of wine and two one-liter tins of olive oil in my checked RS rolling bag. I agree that it's better to look for the wines locally but sometimes you want to bring home a special bottle or two.

Neither Fedex nor UPS will accept alcoholic beverages from individuals (as opposed to licensed exporters).

Many European wine merchants will ship the wine for you. If you don't have or don't like that option, then you can bring it home yourself as checked baggage. Obviously, be sure it's packed in such a way as to prevent breakage (e.g. styrofoam containers).

You can read the US Customs rules on alcohol here: http://tinyurl.com/pjrutnb

As Nancy mentioned, you also need to know your own state's laws - which you can find via the above link.

Finally, it might be wise to check with your own airline as to whether they have any rules or restrictions on checking cases of alcoholic beverages.

This sight doesn't show where Charity is from (update: I can now see she is from MT), but it matters what state you live in. Any state with more than a fledgling wine industry will also have state laws limiting importation. California is the best example. Two cases might be enough to force you to buy an importer's license - depending on which customs officer looks at it.

If I really like a wine, I like to remove the label and put it in my journal, with a note on where we had it. If you ask for it, a lot of wine dealers will bring some in to see if it sells. If so, you can get it anytime.

Thank you all for your suggestions. Seems to me shipping it back from France and Italy is more trouble than it's worth. I really like the idea of saving labels in a journal and seeing if a local distributor would bring some in for me. Thanks for the help, all!

You might want to review some of this discussion on a similar subject:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/shipping-wine-from-orvieto

One thing you can do when you have a bottle of wine you really enjoy is to record or write down the label info. There is no need to save the label unless you want it as a memento. Once back at home, visit a wine shop with a good, varied selection (even large chains like Binny's have a good range) and search for the country, region, grape variety and date. A good sales associate should be able to help get a reasonable match. Frankly, there are few wine types from Europe that you cannot get here, even though you may not match it exactly.

Take a photo of the label but please, don't post it on Facebook or Instagram.

Why would it matter what a person chooses to post to Facebook or Instagram?

....there are few wine types from Europe that you cannot get here....
Types - without question. Labels - no. Many of the great local wines from small wineries are not exported. And sometimes the very specialized, almost unique grapes, are not available in the US either. But that is why your travel to France, Italy, and Spain.

^^^ Which is why I said "types." For the average person that finds a wine that they enjoy in Europe, they can likely find a similar wine imported to the US or Canada.

I work in a CA winery, and I believe, the current shipping rule for MT is limited to 18 cases per year per adult (to ship from CA to MT). And, from the link that Tom provided above, it doesn't appear that you would have a problem with customs, either. I have shipped wine home from France to CA and have not have a problem. I did need to have the wine shipped to work, as alcohol requires a signature.

If you are going to be going to wineries, you can always ask if they export and for information on their distributor in the US. They will often be very happy to provide you with this information.

I have gone to coops, in the past, where they taste many wines from smaller wineries that are often not exported to the US. Those coops have been more than happy to ship for me, and I have not had a problem. I have also carried wine home with me in my checked bag.

Saluté!

We ordered a case of wine from an Enoteca in Montalcino and a winery in Montalcino. Cost of shipping was included in the price. We used American Express for purchase protection just in case there was an issue that wouldn't be covered by the carrier. (stuck in customs, didn't ship, popped corks, etc.) And we also tend to buy wines that we would likely not find California such as reserves, small production or family wineries. The issue of Wine Spectator that came out on Italian wines after our wine was delivered gave three of the wines purchased 90+ scores and listed prices higher than what we paid.

Be sure to ship to a location where someone can sign for the shipment. Wine can not be delivered legally without an adult signature.

We bought a case of wine at a winery in Italy. We were able to have it shipped at a reasonable price because the winery maintained a warehouse in New Jersey. So it actually came to us from New Jersey.

Two points to add to the discussion:

Only plan on bringing back truly unique wines: small batch reserves, unique varietals, etc.. If you taste a wine that you really like, as another poster said, ask the winery if it can be ordered from where you live. Check online sources that would deliver it to your home. I've been very pleasantly surprised as to how many of my vacation-discovered new favorites occasionally turn up locally.

Only pack a few bottles in your checked suitcase (watch the weight) and don't fess up to it (to the airline). I easily get away with 2-4 carefully chosen bottles. My dollar store sells very handy neoprene wine sleeves. Be aware that most airlines now prohibit wine bottles in checked luggage and insist that cases of wine only be checked properly packed in a wooden case. So it's important to check your airline's regulations as well.

"don't fess up to it (to the airline)"

The airlines x-ray checked bags, so they will know what is inside. I am not aware of "most" airlines prohibiting wine in checked bags, and have not had a problem bringing them in. You do need to check customs regulations for the quantity you are allowed, though.

Nancy, we learned our lesson the hard way when trying to check our bags at Catania airport. We had to leave behind 6 bottles of wines.