Bringing wine from UK to CA?

This might be a silly question, but does it make sense to bring wines, particularly older Bordeaux, from UK to California? We brought wines back from Mosel, Alsace, and Burgundy before and love to stock up old world wines whenever we have a chance. We are going on a vacation to UK next month, and Wine-searcher always shows some better price of French wines in UK. So I wonder if it is a good idea to buy a case or two. This is my very first time going to UK too…so any suggestions would be appreciated.

You need to consider what your airline is going to charge you for extra baggage. If this figure is not too high, you can find some treasures.

Bear in mind the UK prices on winesearcher tend to be prices for wine in bond (i.e. still untaxed in a bonded warehouse, as if it never entered the UK). If the wine is removed from bond you will have to pay GBP 2.16 per bottle plus 20% VAT. AFAIK you cannot readily fly out of the UK with wine without it having it been removed from bond and tax-assessed (though I wouldn’t be surprised if this can be arranged for very high-end bottles).

Surely if you are buying it for export you would be exempt from the taxes ( there must be a bonded store at the airport), or at lease be able to claim them back at the airport by producing a tax invoice and stating the goods are for export

Yes. Back vintage Musar and Nyetimber Classic Cuvee

Has anyone had success with that? My attempts to reclaim VAT on other products have been pointless and frustrating. The fees have eaten up most of the refunds, and it’s been a huge hassle.

I know you can have in-bond wine shipped directly to the US by the warehouse or someone else if you’re willing to pay the shipping, the US duties (which are minor) and customs brokers fees. That can make sense for expensive wines. But you won’t be charged the duties if you bring it with you and the baggage charges will likely be less than the shipping charges. I just don’t know how easy it is to get VAT back in that case.

Never tried to reclaim VAT on my visits to the UK since you normally have to show the customs agent what you bought. I normally just throw a nice bottle or two of BDX/Burg in the checked baggage and roll the dice.

I did ship about 80 cases from London to the US when I moved back to the states a few years back and it was surprisingly cheap and never paid the VAT since it was held in bond. Still have a large amount sitting in London that I keep debating on shipping over or hoping I move back some day. Either way, the offsite storage is so much cheaper in London then where I stay so will just let it age gracefully there until I make up my mind.

Hi Yang
I’ve never taken wine to the US, but I do live in the UK, so happy to answer any questions / offer up suggestions for the trip.

I’m sure tax reclaims are viable if buying expensive wines and all from one shop. A shame Berry Brothers & Rudd no longer have their shop in Heathrow, as they were entirely geared up for this, where you would order in advance and pick your wine up (IIRC duty free) at the airport.

For older stuff, many merchants carry a selection in amongst newer stock. For specialists Fine and Rare are the big operation, but there are others, though often the pricing is ambitious. Some have a minimum spend of £300-500. I would expect all would be happy to send to your hotel, and shipping is typically ‘next day’ in the UK i.e. it is delivered the day after it is picked up from the shop / merchant.

regards
Ian

You can only get the VAT reclaim forms completed if buying in person. I don’t think the reclaim process is a huge hassle but I never bother unless the VAT claimed back to me is worth 100-200 minimum.

Thank you for all the suggestions, everyone!

We did VAT reclaim in Paris airport and it wasn’t too big of a hassle - the problem is, though, some businesses don’t provide you the form needed to to that.

Thank you so much, Ian! I’ll spend two days in Belfast, then London, and Oxford. After that we plan to tour UK for about two weeks, but at this point, we made absolutely no plans yet. So I’d really appreciate your suggestions!! Please let me know if there are some not-to-miss things to do in late July to early August.
Fine and Rare keeps coming up on Wine-searcher. I’ll check it out for sure.
I am also thinking of hiring a car and drive up to Scotland, not sure if it is a good idea though.
Thank you!
XY

Hi XY
When in Belfast, Ox is the highly regarded restaurant, very much in the Michelin style. However a short train or taxi ride away to Bangor, gets you to the Boathouse, which I thought was much better. Run by two Dutch guys and with the relaxed / playful / cheeky Dutch humour coming through. The food was excellent through every dish (and this even with me hungover from the previous night’s winetasting extravaganza at Ox).

The St George’s market in Belfast is very good, with a mixture of produce, clothing, etc. plus a band playing and all under cover. Well worth a detour there. FWIW I found Belfast a bit modern for my tastes (preferring Dublin in comparison). However the modern sculpture ‘Beacon of Hope’ (aka ‘Nula with the Hula’) was so impressive we ended up getting a print of it.

Oxford I can’t help with - I haven’t been near for ~ 35 years!

I can recommend reading or even posting on Slow Europe (a re-birth of what was Slow Trav before it got bought out) Slow Europe Travel Forums
There have been some good recent posts on ideas of places to go, but always good to get specific interests so responses can be tailored to the person. In simple terms I tend to look at what reduces my travel time and hence increases my holiday time, so would argue against the drive to Scotland unless there was something that really appealed outside the cities or en-route. If Edinburgh/Glasgow are the appeal, then I’d recommend the train (booking in advance to get good prices on specific trains). Edinburgh has one of the finest wine shops in the land - Raeburn wines run by Zubhair Mohammed and family. A genuine wine geek’s paradise.

If you drive, then consider ensuring the route takes in D Byrne and Co in Clitheroe. Fondly spoken of by forumites on Wine Pages forum as a goldmine of interesting wines and charmingly old-fashioned.

Plenty of good wine shops in London, though many are noticeably pricier than out in the rest of the country, though the upside is the sheer breadth of the ranges. One that many appreciate is BB&R - a venerable old wine company giving a real sense of history, yet at the same time very much moving with the times electronically. Passione Vino are pricey, but have a remarkably interesting/eclectic range of Italian wines - one that would be remarkable/eclectic even in Italy. The sampler are in North London, so a little trek, but pioneered enomatic tasting machines and always have a very broad range of wines on tasting, from much less than a pound a tasting measure, to £50+ pounds a tasting measure. A fun venue for wine geeks. In store prices are high, but then the range is very good, so potential to snag something interesting & hence good value for your palate.

Outside of wine, but in London I do love Borough Market for buying food to take home. It is expensive, but gives access to stuff I just can’t find elsewhere. For tourist stuff, it is quite a lot of money to get in, but the Tower of London has a massive wealth of history and can easily absorb/enthrall for a good 4-5 hours or more. Of all the mainstream ‘pay to see’ attractions, this would be the one I’d suggest. Plenty of free stuff included the changing of the guard at horseguards parade, plus so many famous landmarks that you’ll find yourself encountering them by accident. Definitely buy a cheap pocket AtoZ map for London. So many places are a short walk away, yet people take the tube and walk further in a grubby underground, than they would have done if they’d simply stayed above ground and strolled there.

Any other specific interests you have, that you’d like to explore on the trip?

regards
Ian

Although not wine related, I recently took the underground from London to the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. 300 acres. Absolutely fabulous. I spent the entire day and still did not see everything. Highly recommended.
Phil Jones

Thank you so much, Ian! You are an amazing mine of information! I’ll study the Sloweuro site thoroughly.

Do you have suggestions for where (hotel and neighborhood) to stay in London? Another thing I was thinking of doing while traveling to other parts of UK is to stay in an old-fashion B&B in countryside for a few nights. I don’t know if it is just my imagination, but it somehow sounds fun and appealing to me.

Besides wine, I love old English silver, so I plan to visit V & A museum and the London Silver Vault, also check out some antique shops - any recommendations?

Many thanks,
XY

Thank you, Philip!

Hi XY
For neighbourhood, I’d probably first mark on a map the places I wanted to go, then see what areas were nearest to the centre of those marks. Whilst London’s transport network is extensive and mostly efficient, it is much more pleasant to travel on foot, ideally only using the tube to go longer distances and then seek direct lines if at all possible, as otherwise you’ll be walking the best part of a mile anyway - but underground! Personally I find the tube moderately unpleasant, rising to distinctly unpleasant in weekday rush hours. To be experienced of course, but don’t ignore the buses if the routes work for where you are going.

There are some really bad neighbourhoods in London, but this changes in time. Plenty that are just quite grubby and some that are really very classy. Between the two places of interest above, are some very classy areas (Knightsbridge, Park Lane, etc). Worth checking what the major aggregators have on offer, as we got a very good price on an apartment near Park Lane. The apartment name is its location : 9 Hertford Street. £200 a night (booking.com) was a lot, but compared to some average looking / sounding places nearby for £160+, it was a great deal. If it’s as low as that again, I’d recommend it.

Getting anywhere near Hyde Park / Green Park (or indeed Regent’s park or other big London parks) has additional value, in that a morning walk through there, especially on a Sunday, is very enjoyable. Apart from the parks, London doesn’t have much greenery, so these are especially treasured.

South Kensington, where the silver vaults are, is worth a look, as there is usually quite a bit around there and being a little away from the centre should be a little cheaper.

I wouldn’t know where to look for antiques shops, but would expect them to be dotted around the city, though I bet there are some good concentrations of them. Try yell.co.uk and or google maps for antique shops near where you’re looking to stay.

Plenty of antique shops out in the countryside as well. Use the same search options to find ones near where you’ll be. After watching some of the TV programmes, this does appear to be one area where polite haggling is expected, with ticket prices taking that into account.

B&B? Yes a very wide range and some real gems out there. I always used to use the Tourist board site / offices to find them. Many are just the rooms freed up when children left home, but others are more bespoke, sometimes conversions of old buildings (e.g. stables). The owners are often interesting to talk to, and this (plus price) is a good advantage over impersonal hotels.

regards
Ian

As I recall, the V&A and Kew are on the same underground line.
I stayed at the Amba Hotel on Charring Cross near Trafalgar Square. Excellent and very centrally located.
Phil Jones

It would have been very easy if I hadn’t misplaced the VAT forms before going to the airport. Just be sure to have the luggage with the wine with you when you go to claim the refund as they have to see it.

I did eventually find the VAT forms for the Sherry and English sparkling wine I bought while unpacking at home.