Recent experiences shipping wine from Tuscany to U.S.?

In 2017 I shipped about 1/2 a case of wine from Montepulciano to home. The shop I bought the wine from took care of the shipping. I can't recall the name of the shop but it was st the foot of the hill just inside the old gate. Some stores and wineries in the area will ship for you I am sure. I think the cost was about $80?

I cannot help with specifics of shipping choices.

I will relate the following and let you use it as you see fit.

Before our first trip to Italy, an RS tour, we went to classes RS put on to prep travelers for the trip. In one of the classes the presenter, a native of Italy, strongly suggested resisting the urge to buy wine in Italy and shipping or hauling it home. She suggested that going to a good local wine shop would be the better alternative to find Italian wines without all the hassle of shipping or hauling. Depending on what you may have available locally, this may/may not work for you.

Happy travels

We shipped wine home from several wineries on our last three trips to Italy (2013, 2015 and 2017). Average has been about 100 Euros per case of 12 bottles. We were on small group wine and food tours so the ability to ship home wine was important. Multiple cases shipped at each winery, BUT the destination was a winery here in Oregon. Not sure about current PA shipping laws. And no discount or free shipping. Roughly added 10 Euros per bottle to the cost.

Most of the wineries were smaller (with the exception of Planeta in Sicily) and they had no importer or distribution in the US. And even with Planeta, some of the things we were most interested in don't make it to the US.

You can always ask if they are imported in the US or have US distribution. We always ask for a business card, too.

If you decide to just bring home a couple of bottles, try taking Wine Skins with you - probably available through Amazon. Much easier than hoping your clothes protect the bottles.

We were in Tuscany and Umbria last fall. There seems to be a set cost for shipping, about $90 per case. Some shops do advertise free shipping but the price per bottle seems to have the shipping price bundled in.

Our experience was positive. We were able to get wine that we would never find in the area where we live. The winery told us when we could expect delivery and they were right.

We do a lot of wine tours (done them in Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, Chile and Argentina).
My suggestion is to ask the winery for information on how to and where to buy their wine in the USA. Some wineries we asked did not sell in the USA or didn't sell in our state. Others did sell in our state and we were able (with the information provided) to later on buy the wine we liked in our state.

We have put a couple of bottles in our checked luggage (carefully wrapped and protected), fortunately the wine bottles were not broken.

Thanks for this great info. The Wine Skin type bags look like a pertect option to bring on the trip just in case shipping doesn't make sense for us after we do the math, or to use for olive oil or lemoncello -- I'd heard of them but they weren't on my radar til now - and I love that some are reuseable! We are in PA, where the wine/liquor laws are very slowly evolving and although wine now can be shipped to residents, I believe there's an upcharge. But we can definitely find decent Italian wines here (or in NJ and DE) too, which I'll try to keep in mind as I fight the urge to buy.

Another thing you can do is ask the winery if they have any distributors in the U.S.

I have had good luck just bringing back bottles in checked luggage. In a typical carry-on size bag, I can wrap about 6 bottles, getting a case when using my wife's bag as well. Wine skins are fine, but typical higher end bottles with the punt in the bottom are very strong, as long as you prevent a sharp knock against the bottle and keep them from banging together, you will never lose a bottle.

First issue is what does your state (PA) allow a private citizen to import? Some states prohibit the importation of any wine. Sometimes the cost, logistics, and customs just makes it too difficult.

I have used 3 different approaches.
1. Have the winery ship for you.
2. Wine skins are great but there is another product that you inflate that protect the bottles much better. This approach is great for bringing home 2 or 3 bottles.
3. Purchase a wine shipping container. These cost about $10-12. It holds a full case. This is my luggage for the trip home. I pack light and bring my carry on in the overhead bins. I get one free “suitcase” with my CC. I like this approach the best!

We have shipped wine home on most of our visits, including the most recent one in Piedmont. For Tuscany, first ask the winery if they distribute their wine in the US and where you can get it. If they don’t, have the winery ship it directly home to you. My favorite wine shop is in Montalcino and they age reduced shipping based on how much you spend, sometimes even free. Enotecca di Piazza in Montalcino is an experience in iteself, and they also have an amazing selection of wines and great customer service. They take care of everything for you. Much easier than hauling it home in your suitcase!

Over the past few years I have shipped wines to the US from Italy and France. Italy worked like a charm both times; the wines were in the states almost before we were. Brunello from Santa Giulia and Nobile di Montepulciano from Cantina de' Ricci, both while on tours run by Rick's Tuscan tour buddy, Roberto Bechi. The price does seem to be about 100€/case and the wines, if I recall, were about 30-35€/bottle so it was still under 50€/bottle total.
France has not always been so easy. Importers seem to be on the left coast so they overshoot Chicago by 2000 miles, then want extra $$ to avoid shipping by truck across the desert in summer, unless you like baked wine. On my last shipment I got a surprise bill from Fedex a month later because the Feds had applied a duty on the wine (for reasons still unknown to me). The duty was only about $3, but the processing fees added by Fedex were another $35.

Rick Steves’ guide still lists Enoteca di Piazza which we patronized a few years ago. You use a card to taste a variety of wines they have “on tap” (using an inert gas system for freshness) and they will ship.The link I provided is their shipping chart. When we bought there a few years ago, they had some specials that shipped “free,” that is the shipping was included in the price. Many vineyard we have shopped at also shipped.

Ventolaio, just outside of Montalcino, May be my favorite in all of Italy.

I thought I'd chime back in to report on what we did, which amounted to following all of the great advice here.

For individual bottles: I had purchased a set of 6 reusable wine bags (Vino Lock brand - bubblewrap style with velcro closures) from amazon before our trip. They take up room, but are very light. We used these to carry our bottles traveling between cities (bought 4 bottles in Montepulciano, then trained with them to Rome) and put them into a 23 euro (after bargaining) hard-side bag purchased from a street vendor near our airbnb in Trasetvere before our flight home. Since I traveled with one ebags backpack, RS style, we could check the hard-side bag for free.

In Montalcino, we went wine tasting at a winery (Capanna) and bought 2 cases of wine, for which we paid about 90 euro (each?) to ship home. We also visited the Enoteca la Fortezza, where we bought a 3rd case -- here we paid more per bottle, but the shipping was included. All in all, we felt these 2 options were about the same cost-wise per case. We received all the wine within 2 weeks of our arrival home, in perfect condition and luckily before the 100 degree+ days! And now we are in the market for a wine fridge -lol. :-o