Bringing Home Wine

Yes, you will need to check the bag.

As for packing, I use a "standard" carry on size roller bag for travel. I usually also pack a duffel type bag or my old Rick Steves backpack.

That way I can take most everything out of my bag to pack that, and use the roller bag for wine/beer.

In my bag, with bottles wrapped in dirty clothes and padded around the edges, I can pack 6 bottles, and stay under the 50 pound limit that many airlines have before you get charged for overweight bags. (Check your airline).

Any more, I think the kiosk that you declare alcohol at US immigration only asks if you have "food, animal products, alcohol, ...." Check yes, immigration will likely ask how much, tell them the truth.

Yes, there is a pitiful low limit before duties are owed, but in just over two decades of travel and bringing back way over the limit (including nearly 50 bottles on one pre-9/11 trip) I have never been asked to pay duty, it just is not worth the paperwork to pay a few dollars (Well, it would be something like 10% of the cost of the wine).

Shipping wine has it's own issues, it needs to clear a customs warehouse, there you may owe duty, and each State has laws regarding shipping alcohol, up to just not allowing it. You would need to be aware of those requirements, the place shipping the wine in Europe may be familiar with the motions to ship a case of wine to the US and US Customs, but not your state.

Suitcase has to be less than 50 lb and must be checked.

Thanks Paul. I just needed it in layman's terms and your response was perfect. Thanks

If you have elite status on some airlines the weight limit is 70 lbs. I bring "wine diapers" with me --like bubble wrap for my wines. I do as others have mentioned--i bring an extra duffel bag for return trip and put all soft items in there so my wine is safer in my suitcase--never had a problem with breakage. There are also nice wine suitcases you can use, but that is an extra piece of luggage..Enjoy your wine!

I use these currently.

6 Pack Reusable Wine Protector... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YXD2JYY?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Save the receipts for the purchases in case you are asked to pay duty. I never have And always declare. There are specialized wine suitcases that hold 6 or 12 bottles.
VinGardeValise - Up to 12 Bottles & All Purpose Wine Travel Suitcase (Black) https://a.co/d/8HRGedj

I’ve thought about buying these but I hate checking bags on outbound flights. I’ve shipped wine home from chateuaneuf du pape France. Expensive but was worth it. From montalcino Italy it was not very expensive and in hindsight probably not legal lol. I’ve packed bottles in those sleeves and checked luggage on the way home from champagne, Prague, Portugal, Greece, and Lyon. No problems ever.

I've ordered some of those wines online. Not sure what the difference in cost is.

While the idea of bringing packing materials and even a separate specialized suitcase sounds great, I am just not "that" into it to pack extra items or sluff another suitcase along.

Decent wine bottles, heavier glass and/or with the punt on the bottom are incredibly durable. Bottles now are well sealed with more durable corks that are really engineered to seal. While anecdotal, in many, many trips, I have really had no problems, the one breakage was a cheap glass bottle we were gifted. For me, the dirty clothes option means not packing other items taking up room the whole trip and has worked well.

The other thing to be aware of is that after re-checking the bag in the US, TSA may hand-check your bag after x-ray. I have had some problems with this, mainly because they simply do not pack it back up very well, no wine breakage, but other things crushed or bent. My point is, liquids can be a flag at x-ray, so keep the packing as simple as possible and take care not to make it a puzzle to fit an extra bottle or two in.

We’ve done both shipping and carrying. The decision usually comes down to the point in our travels that we’re buying it. If it’s just a bottle or two, and we can carry it while guaranteeing that the temperature won’t effect it, then we either use the wine sleeves or bubble wrap in checked luggage. We haven’t lost a bottle yet. However, if we have a lot of travel days ahead, or want to buy more than a bottle, we’ve had success shipping. The cost has never been prohibitive and in the case of shipping from various points in Italy, arrived at almost the same point as we’ve arrived home.

If you're really serious about collecting wine, and expect to do so fairly frequently, it might be worth it to invest in an actual wine suitcase. My personal favorite is the VinGuarde Valise (https://www.flywithwine.com/vingardevalise/). I have the 8 bottle version and its been back and forth across the US several times, once to Spain and, as of last week, once to Italy. The 12 bottle version is specifically designed to come in at 50 pounds or less (though that depends a bit on the type of bottle you put in it...thicker glass weighs more). I've never had a problem being over-weight with either the 8 bottle or 12 bottle version. You can also buy different inserts (e.g., champagne, beer, wine glasses). They're not cheap, but considering what I would have spent in shipping, I'm ahead. Also, as noted by others on this thread, I've never had to pay for any wine that I've brought back to the US. Its usually more of a hassle for the customs agents than its worth.