Bringing back wine from Italy, Under 21

It has to come back in your checked luggage.

Whether or not you can import it once you enter the US will depend upon the age laws of the state of your final domestic destination.

Checked baggage for sure. It is my understanding that US Customs doesn't enforce state law. I have brought in many more bottles than suggested in the literature without a problem. Personally, I would try. You can be vague, but you do not want to lie on the customs declaration or to the customs agent.

The wine likely will be confiscated as it is illegal for minors to import alchohol. Here's the link to the customs website https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/190/~/bringing-alcohol-(including-homemade-wine)-to-the-u.s.-for-personal-use

Actually there is a very large potential grey area, thus the careful wording of the first response.

CPB does not make laws, it enforces them. Thus, its posted information is a boiled-down compendium, hopefully accurate at the time of publication. Prior to passage of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, they enforced importation based on the final destination of the alcoholic beverage (maybe not exactly that, but at the point where the person could get access to it, I forget) - - just as now where they may limit the amount to be imported based on state laws.

Louisiana drinking laws are swiss cheese. Many states have exceptions for consumption when parents, etc are present. There is a movement afoot in Florida to return the age to something like it was in the seventies and early eighties - - perhaps at the risk of loosing federal highway funding which was the driving dynamic of many states setting the twenty-one age limit in the first place.

Had the OP known, or come to know, the drinking age in her state she would have had her answer. Lee's response was also accurate - - for the present moment. What is not known is how long responses will languish on the internet and become overcome by new legislation.

What is specifically not known here is where alliej2012 is from or what her aerodrome of entry would be. Should she be a resident of Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands, the drinking age remains eighteen. If she initially passed through customs in either of these places, there would not be an issue.

Your mom and sister will understand that you can't easily carry wine. Think about bringing something easier and lighter - such as dried porcini mushrooms, aged cheese, balsamic vinegar, panforte di Siena, or a gift specific to a city you visit- but not alcohol or meat products.

Since you don't want to ship the wine (understandably) because it is expensive (also be aware that certain states won't let you ship wine to them), what I would do instead is bring back your new-found wine knowledge... learn what to look for on labels of Italian wine, what flavors you liked... Then help them choose a bottle when you are back, and offer to pay for it (although probably not inside the store! haha).

I applaud the suggestion of balsamic vinegar, a wonderful gift for the kitchen and the dining table. Vintage balsamic (yes, it is aged like fine wine and liquors) can be found in romantic containers that are small enough to pack easily, if you take a Ziplock bag with you. It can also cost as much as a good wine, another advantage of the small container. Fine Italian olive oil is also pricy and cherished by cooks. Some of it is packaged in cans which are less likely to leak than botttles, and ligher too.