We brougt one bottle of red back 5 years ago from Sarlat. We just had it, and it was excellent! We remember only paying 3.5 euros for it. We would love to ship back a case this time. Has anyone done this? Cost estimate?
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Here's a link with tips on that:
Posted by
San Francisco, California, USA
446 posts
The link really doesn't address the issue of shipping wine home. I don't see why it wouldn't be possible to have a European winery ship you a case of wine -- just like you can order wine from, say, a California winery. But, the international shipping will be terribly expensive, plus you may have to pay customs duties on the wine.
If you are thinking about doing this, be sure to get all the facts first. Like, there are some states that don't permit consumers to order wine from out of state. For example, California allows it, but Pennsylvania prohibits consumer wine orders from out of state. The European winery should know whether they can ship to you or not.
After gathering the facts, my guess is that you will find it's just not worth the hassle or expense. But, that's ultimately your decision.
Posted by
Huntington, WV
160 posts
My wife fell for a delicious Normandie hard cider a couple of years ago in a small biscuiterie near Pontorson. At 3 euro per bottle she thought it would be a great idea to simply ship a case home...until she found out how much it would cost. Nearly 100 euro on the slow boat. The owner linked us up with a distributor in Chicago and we were able to purchase the bottles at about $9 apiece. Finding a local distributor who can access your wine might be the smart bet.
Posted by
Chicago
2876 posts
Ed's advice about a local distributor is good. A local licensed importer might be able to piggy-back a case of the wine you want onto one of their regular shipments, saving you all the hassles.
On the other hand, you can buy a lot of good California wine for the cost of shipping a case home from France.
I used to carry wine bottles home from France, but I stopped when I realized that somehow it never tastes as good here as it did over there.
Posted by
San Francisco, California, USA
446 posts
Just as I said -- shipping from Europe is prohibitively expensive.
A friend brought me as a gift a small tin of tea that he purchased in Paris at a fancy tea company. I thought I might order some more, so I looked up the company on their website -- the tea cost about 10 Euros. They wanted 20 Euros to ship me one 10 Euro box of tea!
Posted by
Portlandia
3313 posts
I bought four cases from a wine merchant in Beaune and am still enjoying them.
The cost of shipping wasn't terribly expensive - can't remember how much now, but it wasn't as exorbitant as some are reporting here. But I bought several cases, not just a few bottles.
That said, consider the time of year you'll be shipping. Mine was delivered to Portland during a very warm June. Had the air freight company not stored my wine in the air-conditioned office, my wine would have been cooked. See if you can arrange to have your wine shipped in the late fall to avoid hot weather along the way. Wine spends a lot of time in freight warehouses.
Posted by
Diamondhead, MS
132 posts
Not wine but Balsamic from Rome. The shipping price seemed to be the same regardles of the box being full or empty. (So fill it.) They used the same case as for wine. (When I asked about wine the price was the same.)
It was well over 100 euro.
To me, the reason to do it isn't to save money. It's because you found a wine you love. And you can't get it here.
Posted by
Monein, Pyrenees, France
425 posts
When you visit a vineyard for a "degustation", ask the owners if they already ship to the US. Even small vineyards like our neighbours do this. That would make life a LOT easier.