Bringing Wine from Italy 2017

Visit the U.S. Customs Service web site - it contains all the most up to date info. The last time I traveled to Europe, the tax-free exemption for alcohol was 2 liters (2 & 3/4 wine bottles). However, I have, on several occasions, declared over 3 liters of alcohol and I have never had to pay duty.

That being said, unless you visit a very small and low volume winery, it is unlikely you'll find a wine that is unavailable in the USA. Also, I've read and been told that "flying" wine is unsettling for it and the wine should be stored for 6 months before consuming. Not that I could necessarily tell if a wine was "unsettled" by its taste...

If you do plan to bring back wine, here's what I have done in the past. I took "wine skins" protective bags with me. In Italy, I purchased a cheap hard-shell suitcase to check on the return trip and that is what I shipped the wine home in. If you're really serious about bringing wine home, large wine retailers usually carry custom wine suitcases... Just be mindful of liquid limitations in carry-one luggage - fine wine isn't exempt.

Ok thank you! I looked on the customs website but what I found said something about 1 litre, and $800-$1500 so I was confused about what that meant.

Some wineries will ship it back to your residence for free. I bought two cases of Brunnello that way. If you are only looking for a couple of bottles just get it at the airport duty free where you can bring two back per person.