Later this year I’m headed to Scotland (East Lothian and Fife) for a guys golf trip. We will be pretty stationary while there - 6 days in North Berwick (short train ride away from Edinburgh) and then 4 days in St Andrews.
It’s a special trip for us and I’d like to celebrate with some nice wines - I’m thinking aged Bordeaux, Burgundy, vintage Champagne, Port, and Madeira.
I don’t feel like lugging wine from the US to Scotland. Would it be possible to purchase from a retailer in the UK and have it shipped to my destination (either the AirBNB I’ll se staying at or some sort of package receipt place)?
I could do that in the US but wasn’t sure how it worked in the UK- whether a retailer would be willing to do the transaction (for fear of fraud) or whether there’s laws that prevent shipping/receipt etc.
its been a while since i left the UK but mail order wine was not a thing when i left in 2000. Now Edinburgh is sure to have at least a few good small wine shops and a couple of the chains ( not sure but it Majestic was the biggest ) You will get a decent selection of French wines in the UK, good choice of champagne and port, not sure about burgs as ive never drunk them. One thing that used to be an issue in the UK is that they would only ever ship goods to the registered address of the credit card holder, not sure if that sstill applies.
I would just call a few shops and ask, the one below is close to where your going. Uk businesses are generally open to making money so if your buying say a mixed case of wines and bubbly im sure you could talk them into delivering it for a small fee. If you need any help with the Scottish accent please let me know and i can act on your behalf !! your lucky its edinburgh and not Glasgow, nobody understands those buggers.
I lived in the UK for a couple years - they are generally much more relaxed about alcohol shipments than in the US so I expect you won’t have much of an issue. While they are still in the EU its also quite easy to have wine shipped from other EU countries as well (it cost me 20 Euros to ship a case to London from Bordeaux - what I’d give for that now!).
For instance, Berry Bros has UK delivery info on their website and do UK-wide deliveries. A quick email to them would like answer if they would deliver to a hotel/AirBnb (if anyone would be there to collect) or a local shipping store in advance for you.
Yes. Easy to arrange as long as someone can take delivery for you. Most vendors will allow you to specify the date and some the approximate time of delivery.
Majestic is rubbish now. Forget about them.
Look at places such as BBR, Robersons, The Wine Society (I wouldn’t normally suggest them as you have to pay to join, but they are strong in the areas you mention and excellent on customer services).
Great Britain is one country. Scottish Parliament notwithstanding, there is no American-style federalism in terms of sales, taxes, liquor rules. It’s a single market. No archaic legacies of Prohibition, a concept that never took hold there. So there shouldn’t be any issue shipping within the UK.
It used to be a problem, but now usually works to have goods shipped to any address in the UK, at least with a card issued in that country.
Despite EU principles of free movement of goods, there are still issues with payment of Alcohol Duty for private shipping of wine into the UK. Usually it works, but you could find your wine confiscated
Jason, I live in New Zealand but visit the U.K regularly to see the mother in law. I am a New Zealander, with a locally issued credit card. I have bought wine from several U.K merchants (while I was in NZ) to be delivered to my mother in law’s house (on some occasions it was just the wife going over) without any issues or qualms at all. The only thing you really need to organise is ensuring that you have someone who can receive/sign for the package.
I’m an American ex-pat who has lived in London since 2003 and, by coincidence, am moving back to the US tomorrow. You will not have any trouble using an American credit card. You’ll have the FX charge that your credit card company charges for foreign purchases. Raeburn and BBR are both good choices. As noted above, many merchants on the Continent will also ship to the UK, including Millesime, which has a large selection of (particularly) French wines. I’ve ordered Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne from them many times and have always been pleased with the condition of the bottles ordered, including older bottles. It looks like you have enough time to contact a Port house directly and order some mature bottles of (for example) Taylors or Grahams. I’ve had bottles shipped direct from Porto of both mature Vintage Ports and Colheita. Quinta do Noval is big on Colheita Ports. You can find some lovely older bottles from them that won’t break the piggy bank.
St Andrews is fine for wine. Luvians always had interesting stuff, although they did use to target the tourist market for their high end range. Their main shop is in Cuper Angus, which is a short drive away. The owner always used to hate selling his top wines, but maybe he will have handed the business on by now…Good whiskey collection.
For years the Peat Inn was famous for its wine list, but that all changed a while ago. I think it’s still has a Michelin Star, so it’s probably worth a visit. Wine list is online and it’s ok.
Do be wary of relying on their online wine list, as it’s always badly out of date. Probably the saving grace, as otherwise I suspect I would have spent far too much money buying from them!
Luvians also a good suggestion, considering the convenient location and also having a good range. IIRC they are also noted ice-cream makers.
Not knowing your cellar, but if you have 2 or 3 bottles of good stuff that you would want to share, I would advise you to take it with you. Unless you are someone who believes in travel shock, 3 bottles of 750 ml won’t add much weight and you can something available if shopping isn’t convenient right away.