We plan on visiting France soon, and I would like to purchase and send home a few cases (at most) of various wines I try while there.
Over and over my friends who visit France tell me it’s not (reasonably) possible…
Is this true?
What if I just bought a trio of Wine Check luggage pieces, paid the airline fees, and declared it at US Customs?
Also , if anyone has horror stories about bring a few cases back, please tell me…
One can certainly bring wine back on your flight, not sure what the limits are but you just pay a tax (or is it a duty?) based on declared value.
Shipping from France for a few cases is crazy expensive but is possible.
Beautiful time of year to visit, have a great trip!
What part(s) of the country are you going to?
If you carry any purchases through customs I believe this is how duty works:
you are entitled to an $800 duty-free exemption and the next $1,000 worth of the goods you purchased is subject to a flat rate of 3%. If the value exceeds $1,800, the remaining duty will be determined based on duty rates in the harmonized tariff schedule, which are generally between 0-10% (except for clothing and textiles, which can be much higher, up to 25%).
“A general rule of thumb is that 1 case of alcohol is a personal use quantity…”
To quote Malory Archer … what kind of limit is that?!
As others have said shipping is a huge PITA and no idea how to do so.
Bring empty styro shippers and bring them back full as luggage. Done this many times. It is always over the 1 liter duty free limit but they have never asked me to pay those duties. If they do I understand they are small.
Both times (France & Italy) brought a mixed case in a WineCheck thru DIA. Once I wasn’t even asked what was in the suitcase, once when asked I replied wine without any further questions.
We almost always bring back a case of wine, and have brought back up to two. I’ve been doing this for about 30 years (maybe a total of 15 or 20 times). Never tried to slip anything by customs, never had a problem, never paid a dime.
Also, about 10 years ago we bought a couple cases at the Caveau de Chassagne-Montrachet and had them shipped back. At the time it was $140 per case, but as long as you observe the price points and know the prices back home, it can still save you a lot of money over U.S retail. It took quite a few months for the wines to arrive, but they were shipped in reefers and it was totally headache-free. The Caveau took care of everything – packing, paperwork, shipping, etc.
I generally bring back a case or two of wine when I go to France. Always declare it. Only once have I been asked to pay duty (in 1984 and it cost about $18 - big deal). Only way you can get into trouble is not to declare the wine.
As for having it shipped, I know there are some wineries and stores that will do that. I did it once at a winery in Burgundy. Shipping was expensive, but I did not have to pay VAT. Made the price come way down.
Always declare and there shouldn’t be any problem. Bring an empty Winecheck or empty styrofoam container with you as it can be surprisingly difficult to find them in France.
I would join the chorus. My experience is returning from Italy, not France, but I assume it’s the same thing.
Bring whatever you can carry in shipper boxes and/or in your luggage (you can use those bubble wrap ziplock wine bags for extra insurance against breakage), declare it, and 98% chance you’ll pay nothing and 2% chance you’ll pay a nominal amount that won’t matter. Oryou can ship a case, which is expensive but not prohibitive (maybe $100 or something?), though you’d need to consider the weather at the time of year too.
It’s quite fun a few weeks after you return home to get your case of wine from your travels, by the way. It’s sort of like in the pre digital camera era, when the trip wasn’t quite over until you got your photos back from the drug store.
Airlines ding you for the weight?
You can arrange for shipping, but expect to pay 150 - 175 Euros. It is expensive because there are numerous regulations that need to be followed (including labeling) for importation.
You don’t pay VAT, but you need to be buying a lot of GC in order to offset the shipping.
Better to check the wine as luggage, as others are recommending.
for the flight home.
We’ve brought back as much as 2 cases and a few extra bottles in luggage.
I wonder if that’s a France thing – I don’t think I paid more than 50-70 Euros to ship a case home from Italy a few years ago.
Or maybe you sent it some faster delivery method? I was in Italy in April (plus I’m cheap when it comes to shipping, and I also am not as fussy as many wine geeks about perfect temperatures and delivery conditions), so I just sent it the cheapest ground/boat/whatever method.
Zackly - it’s not easy finding shipping boxes in Europe. Earlier this year I spend my entire last day looking for shipping boxes in Madrid to no avail - had to bubble wrap two cases - but we just took them along with our luggage and paid the extra luggage cost - I always declare it and never have paid duty for them -
In burgundy, the wine co-ops (that sell things wineries need to make wine to the wineries) have shippers. There is one in Beaune and one in the cote des Nuits.
I know of a company that is working on manufacturing and distributing shipper boxes in France now - should be more widely available soon.
I have done this many times. Usually half a case to one case. The most was about 3.5 cases in 3 bordeaux wood crates and checked luggage (can’t get more obvious than that). Always declared. CDP didn’t care. My understanding is that you pay duty on alcohol content so each bottle of wine would have a slightly different duty. If they decide to charge duty, they have to do it right and look through the book to calculate correct duty for each bottle, which can be very time consuming especially if you have mixed cases. They don’t have the time nor do they care for something trivial like wine as long they think it’s an reasonable amount for personal consumption. I imagine cases of spirits (40%+ alcohol content) is going to be different.
Bring shipping boxes, or consider wine air columns (what I use) in suitcases. You have more flexibility in protecting the exact amount of wine you purchase, and in a bind (if you bought too much) you can buy a cheap duffel bag locally. Remember to buy a pump.