Wine: you CAN take it with you when you go!
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How much wine can you bring back from your foreign travels? More than I thought, it turns out.
I just got back from a great couple of weeks in France, first at Vinexpo, and then with my family. Of course, we found lots of great wines to drink while we were there and even bought too much, and were forced to bring some back.
But I was apparently mistaken about the limit on just how much we could bring back–I thought we were allowed only one liter each, so we were forced to drink almost all the wines we got while we were there. I’ve written up one already — more notes forthcoming.
It turns out that all that guzzling might have been avoided if I had studied up on the US rules first. Customs and Border Protection limits you to one liter of alcohol free of tax. But beyond the one liter, the useful “Know before you go” Customs pamphlet elaborates that “Federal regulations allow you to bring back more than one liter of alcoholic beverage for personal use, but, as with extra tobacco, you will have to pay duty and Internal Revenue Service tax.”
While they don’t mention the IRS tax rate, anyone care to guess what the Customs duty is? Three percent! That’s it!
Despite the inconvenience of traveling with wine, us wine geeks can revel in bringing back wines that are not commercially imported to the US or are much less expensive overseas! Consider these examples:
I went to one winery and tasted a wine for 10 euros. Later I found the wine online for $30 in the US (plus sales tax and/or shipping). This wine would be a great one to bring back.
Or let’s say you find a 1999 red Burgundy at a store in Paris that sells for $60 there versus $125 at home (such a find is possible according to one of my friends). One case of this wine is nine liters so that means eight liters are taxable–though traveling with a spouse could bring that down to seven–or about 11 bottles, or $660. The duty? $19.80. I’ve paid more than that in corkage fees at restaurants!
Furthermore, some of the more savvy wine retailers may even offer the tax rebate forms for purchases over a certain amount. In that case, our case of red Burgundy falls by about 20 percent in price after the VAT is reimbursed at the airport. It just keeps getting better!
Some other considerations:
Your port of entry in the US may be in a state that levies additional taxes or even limits “imports.” Check here for contact info for state agencies.
Airlines may have weight restrictions imposed on coach class baggage, usually two bags at 50 pounds each. I’ve checked wine as baggage and had no problem with a case weighing 40 pounds.
You’re only allowed one liter free of tax every thirty days.
“Unusual quantities” are likely to raise eyebrows according to the Customs pamphlet.
Bonne chance! Hit the comments with your experiences or wines that would be on your list to pick up.
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On July 6th, 2007 at 12:33 pm ,Pattie wrote:
Would it be possible to go to the post office near where you’re vacationing and ship the case of wine to yourself back in the states? Would that cost more than trying to bring a case back with you?
On July 6th, 2007 at 12:44 pm ,Dr. Vino wrote:
Hi Pattie,
People have told me that they’ve been successful in doing that before. In that Customs pamphlet, however, it states on page 18 that “Federal law prohibits shipping alcoholic beverages by mail in the United States.” Key phrase: “by mail,” as in US Postal Service. Perhaps a private carrier would be ok. I’m sure somewhere on http://www.cbp.gov there’s some relevant material…
Cheers,
On July 6th, 2007 at 2:11 pm ,mph wrote:
Also note that even if you have (somewhat) more than 1 liter, the customs agents may not bother to collect the duty. I’ve declared 3 or 4 bottles, and they have not collected the duty. I guess it’s not worth the agent’s time to do the paperwork for small amounts.
On July 6th, 2007 at 3:23 pm ,Richard Auffrey wrote:
Coming back into the U.S. from Canada, I have been able to take back almost two cases of wine without paying any duty. I was told by a friend in customs to claim it as speciality wine. The duty is only supposed to be like 25 cents a bottle so usually the customs guys won’t bother with the paperwork.
On July 6th, 2007 at 6:28 pm ,Errol wrote:
The clearly-stated policy in New Zealand (for returning NZers is that Customs can’t be bothered with duties that are less than NZD50 (USD38), although you have to tell them about it. Nearly everything is only subject to 12.5% GST(VAT). So you just push the cart through the ‘to declare’ lane, and say ‘I’ve got 12 bottles of wine’ (this only works up to a certain value of wine of course). If they were feeling particularly bored they might enquire has to the wine’s price, but they seem to generally smile and wave you through.
Most people use this provision to get 3 1litre bottles of spirits (purchased on arrival).
On July 7th, 2007 at 1:48 pm ,avwineguy wrote:
OK…Here’s a curve ball. I am going to Italy in the fall but I am coming back through Canada. I am only spending at most one night in Canada, but more than likely just changing planes in Toronto.
To whom do I pay duty and will I have to pay twice?
On July 7th, 2007 at 1:58 pm ,amechad wrote:
Ah, but what about new restrictions on carry on liquids for US-bound or US-originating flights? Or is this all checked baggage, and, if so, how does one pack wine without fear of breakage? And what about wine at the duty free?
On July 7th, 2007 at 8:08 pm ,Gabrio Tosti wrote:
USPS will not accept and deliver alcohol from abroad and within the States.
UPS and every other private carrier will but they are very expensive ($ 150/200 per case shipped from Italy) you can also have wine shipped from abroad with UPS as gift.
Buona Bevuta a Tutti
http://www.de-vino.com
http://www.de-vino.blogspot.com
On July 8th, 2007 at 7:36 am ,Dr. Vino wrote:
Thanks for the update from NZ, Erroll!
awineguy– Ooh, a doozie. I think you’re right though–if you clear Canadian customs you have to abide by their regs on wine imports and then the US as well. However, if you are just a transit passenger in Toronto, I’d imagine that it’s only the US regs that apply. We’ll see if we can get a travel expert in here to comment!
amechad - yes, wine can only be placed in checked luggage. I’ve checked wine in the hold before in a Styrofoam shipper (see photo above) but coming back from France I did the old “dirty laundry in the suitcase” trick. Worked find.
Thanks, Gabrio!
On July 8th, 2007 at 2:37 pm ,el jefe wrote:
Rather than ship or mail your wine back, ship or mail your luggage - you’re through with it anyway…:)
On July 8th, 2007 at 8:24 pm ,Dr. Vino wrote:
el jefe - I like your style…
On July 8th, 2007 at 8:37 pm ,Jack wrote:
Duh! Of course you can. The import duty isn’t the problem (and has always been waived for us) - it’s lugging the wine around until the airport and getting it back undamaged.
My friend Derrick (Obsession with Food) brought two 12-bottle standard styrofoam/cardboard boxes to Provence last Summer and he and a relative each came back with 12 bottles.
On July 8th, 2007 at 8:49 pm ,Dr. Vino wrote:
Lugging the wine around the airport isn’t so bad (that’s what carts are for) — yet another reason to fly biz class wo luggage weight restrictions!!
Booyah–party at Derrick’s house!
On July 8th, 2007 at 10:42 pm ,larisa wrote:
I didn´t know that, Thanks a lot for this infomation ji ji
On July 9th, 2007 at 12:26 pm ,Brooklynguy wrote:
I “smuggled” a case back from the Loire 2 years ago, but I took only 3 bottles home last year from Burgundy. I was afraid to check wine because I watch the baggage handlers throwing luggage around, and just watching can give you a concussion. I was afraid to bring more in my suitcases because liquids are not allowed on planes. Seems like Jack’s styrofoam idea is best, or just shipping the wine.
On July 9th, 2007 at 12:51 pm ,Mark Ashley wrote:
awineguy:
If you are spending the night in Toronto, you’ll 99.9% likely have to clear customs. In which case Canadian import rules will apply. If you are just changing planes at Toronto, then … it depends.
From the Great Toronto Airports Authority: International to US flights require BOTH Canadian (CBSA) and American (CBP) inspection and declaration, but there are exceptions: “Some International to U.S. connecting flights at Terminal 1 do not require passengers to clear CBSA before clearing US CBP inspection.”
Call your airline to see if you will be required to claim your checked bags and recheck them, or if you’ll be able to simply check your bags through to their final destination without going through Customs in Toronto.
Jack:
“Duh” ?? Obviously not “duh” for most people, considering the range of comments in this thread. Travel industry folks, such as airline personnel, tend to use shorthand and refer to “limits” on alcohol (or cigarettes, or whatever) when actually describing duty-free limits. It’s not always obvious to the lay person.
- Mark Ashley
Upgrade: Travel Better
On July 10th, 2007 at 3:17 am ,BNJTokyo wrote:
I live in Japan and the duty is flat rate about 150 yen per bottle (a little over US$1, and it always works out to be some repeating decimal per bottle for some reason)
I’ve done a maximum of 36 bottles from France once but I had my wife and minor daughter to help with the sherpa duty. Still have a few bottles left.
I used to hand carry it but that approach is now out of the question. I bought a hard sided strong suitcase — which cannot be locked, so I strap it shut with one of those belts. In side I put a cardboard wine box cut to size and re-constructed with tape. I pack socks and tea shirts about the necks; the goal it to prevent the bottles moving inside the suitcase.
So far, after more than a dozen trips, I’ve only lost one bottle to breakage — and that was when the airline insisted I use their box. So they paid for it. It broke because my box could move around inside their box, and we hit some turbulence.
On the trip back from France, we stopped for a few days to visit friends in Finland, a high tax strict alcohol country. I wrote in advance to their customs department and was advised to declare the wine and ask them to hold it in customs bond until I left the country. I printed a copy of their letter and showed to the custom’s agent. He said he would trust me to export it all and let me in without any paper work. It might have helped that we arrived in the middle of the night.
Cheers,
On July 10th, 2007 at 7:38 am ,Mike Devine wrote:
I’ve found, as a rule, that however much you can comfortably carry back (one case is usually my limit to drag around - two if I were to take el jefe’s advice), the Customs folks won’t bother with the collection of either the duty or the IRS excise tax, which comes out to be @20 cents p/ 750ml bottle for wines under 14%, and @30 cents p/btl for wines between 14-21% (still wines only - they will collect on sparkling wines, since the excise is considerably higher). One word of caution, though - if you tick the inspector off, or if (s)he got up on the wrong side of the bed, you will spend enough time in Customs filling out the paperwork to miss close connections. I believe that a smile and good word will often overcome a bad mood. Happy trails….
On July 10th, 2007 at 8:12 am ,Dr. Vino wrote:
Thanks, all, for these tips! Great stuff!
Cheers,
Tyler
On July 10th, 2007 at 9:04 pm ,Joe wrote:
I shipped a case of odds and ends from Napa, checked it, absolutely no problem. Unfortunately, the Canadian government takes MUCH MUCH more than 3% - I will never do that again. Can I ship it to you in NYC? I promise to pick them up, two bottles at a time (tax free here), over the next year.
On July 13th, 2007 at 5:05 pm ,Traveling with booze: Policy clarifications and changes » Upgrade: Travel Better wrote:
[...] a reminder from Upgrade: Travel Better contributor Tyler Colman on the rules regarding duty-free limits on wine (or other alcohol, for that matter.) Very often, airport and airline staff unfortunately [...]
On July 15th, 2007 at 12:20 am ,Matt wrote:
For comparison’s sake, the authorities in British Columbia charge duties of 110% on the actual value on anything over 2 bottles (1.5 litres) of wine…
Usually declaring 3 or 4, the customs officer won’t bother with the taxes, but it’s still very risky! Imagine bringing back 12 bottles from Napa @ avg. $50/piece, and then paying $660 in taxes upon arrival in Canada.
On July 15th, 2007 at 10:24 am ,Dr. Vino wrote:
Whoa! Heavy duty! (Sorry couldn’t resist the pun)
Wow, duty and excise rates clearly vary significantly from country to country (Norway anyone?) and it seems like the US is at low end by international comparison (though NZ, as evidenced by Errol above, may be the most wine geek friendly).
On July 15th, 2007 at 10:48 am ,Joe wrote:
Matt/Tyler - I made exactly that mistake last year, and I think the province of Quebec is even more unfriendly than B.C. Never again.
On July 20th, 2007 at 2:01 pm ,DiablitoWino wrote:
I was coming back to NY from South America once and they let you purchase wine on the Airport Duty Free Store. They hand it to you at the door right before you board the plane. What they forget to tell you is that if you have a connecting flight in Central America, you will have to drink that bottle prior to boarding the connecting flight! Unless you want to dump it, of course. Yes, no bottles are allowed in carry-on bags unless they were purchased on the duty free store of the airport where you are departing from, in this case, it was Central America. That really sucked!
On August 7th, 2007 at 7:36 pm ,Anne wrote:
What would duty be on bringing wine into Canada from the US ?? Is there a limit ?? How often can one do it ???
On August 7th, 2007 at 9:05 pm ,Dr. Vino wrote:
From Canada Border Services:
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/E/pub/cp/rc4161/rc4161-e.html#P007
Alcoholic beverages
You are allowed to import only one of the following amounts of alcohol free of duty and taxes:
* 1.5 litres (53 imperial ounces) of wine;
* 1.14 litres (40 ounces) of liquor;
* a total of 1.14 litres (40 ounces) of wine and liquor; or
* 24 x 355 millilitre (12 ounces) cans or bottles (maximum of 8.5 litres) of beer or ale.
Note
We classify “cooler” products according to the alcoholic beverage they contain. For example, beer coolers are considered to be beer, wine coolers are considered to be wine. We do not consider beer and wine products not exceeding 0.5% alcohol by volume to be alcoholic beverages.
You can bring in more than the free allowance of alcohol except in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. However, the quantities must be within the limit set by the province or territory where you will enter Canada. If the value of the goods is more than the free allowance, you will have to pay both customs and provincial or territorial assessments. For more information, check with the appropriate provincial or territorial liquor control authority before coming to Canada.
On August 29th, 2007 at 11:55 am ,Nicole wrote:
We are traveling in France and I bought 12 bottles from a winery (they were very cheap in comparison to the quality - I couldn’t resist). I am hoping to bring them with me to London. From what I am reading do you think the best bet is to pack all the mini boxes together (there are 4 in a case) and use it as one of my checked luggage? Will all airlines do that? Will they be careful with it? If I ask at the information desk, do they have boxes that I should use?
I would love to bring some of this great wine back with me. Please let me know if anyone has any suggestions!
-Nicole
On September 25th, 2007 at 12:15 pm ,Doug wrote:
Guess I was lucky. My wife and I just returned from Tuscany and I packed a mixed case of Brunello’s (small producers that don’t export). We declared the wine and went straight through Customs.
On September 25th, 2007 at 12:56 pm ,Dr. Vino wrote:
Doug,
Fantastic! Which was your port of entry into the US?
On October 20th, 2007 at 7:25 am ,chelle wrote:
I would also be interested in which port of entry into the us? I am flying through atl from italy soon and I want to bring some wine back with me. I am already bringing a pet so I do not want too much added hassle from customs since the layover is not very long. any recomendations of wines to bring back from the Veneto region of Italy?
On October 22nd, 2007 at 10:15 am ,Ed wrote:
Hi Dr. Vino: I wrote to you earlier regarding my trip to France in 3 weeks. I just discovered the salon des vin et Vignerons Indepedents will take place in Lille during my visit, I i’m planing on making the trip. My question for you (or anyone else who might know)is: do you think I can find styrofoam carriers there or should I plan to bring my own from the US? Thanks, Ed
On October 22nd, 2007 at 10:48 am ,Dr. Vino wrote:
Ed, I’m not sure. Perhaps contact that Salon organizers for a local reference? It would be a pain to take those empty boxes all the way there.
On October 29th, 2007 at 11:37 am ,John wrote:
I thought this might be of interest. Found on MLCC website -
http://www.liquormartsonline.com/pdfs/BringingMoreLiquorintoManitobathanisalloweddutyfree.pdf
Provincial fees on imported liquor.
Where an individual brings into Manitoba from any place outside Canada, more liquor than is permitted to be imported into Canada free of duty and tax under any Act of the Parliament of Canada, the fees payable to the commission are as follows:
spirits ……………….. $0.40 per ounce;
sparkling wine and champagne $0.16 per ounce;
other wine ………………$0.12 per ounce;
cooler and cider ……….. $0.08 per ounce;
beer ………………….. $0.04 per ounce.
On December 6th, 2007 at 6:42 pm ,Dr Vino’s wine blog » Blog Archive » Puzzle of the day: where can you fly with wine in the USA? wrote:
[...] Related: “Wine: you CAN take it with you when you go (home)“ [...]
On December 10th, 2007 at 10:29 am ,Dr Vino’s wine blog » Blog Archive » Traveling with wine puzzle revealed! Mark Ashley of Upgrade: Travel Better wrote:
[...] Related: “Wine: you CAN take it with you when you go (home)“ [...]
On December 19th, 2007 at 5:41 am ,Andrew Price wrote:
Don’t forget that you can claim VAT and tax when you export from the country of purchase. Most shops allow this for spends of GBP 100, EUR 150 - just get a VAT Reclaim receipt.
As an example - I buy EUR 1000 of wine in France, paying 19.5% VAT. I then claim my 19.5% back - 195 EUR and pay import duty (I happen to live in Switzerland - 7.5% applies) - 75 EUR is paid. Net result - my 1000 EUR wine costs 880 EUR.
On December 19th, 2007 at 10:49 pm ,Devin wrote:
I need help.. im 18 and need to know if i can take beer back with me from germany
On December 20th, 2007 at 9:50 am ,Dr. Vino wrote:
Hi Devin -
I would imagine that you fall in a bit of a gray area–legally allowed to drink in Germany, but not in the US. Therefore I’d say you have to respect the laws where you are and it would be illegal for you to bring wine to the US. But it is a gray area since you are neither buying it nor drinking it!
And don’t forget to have your say in the poll on the drinking age.
On December 29th, 2007 at 10:09 am ,Glen wrote:
When you fly back into the United States bringing alcohol you have to be sure to fly into states that DO NOT have STATE restrictions on alcohol (California or New York for example DO have STATE restrictions) as states do have restrictions are enforced by US CBP. Once you arrive in a state with no restrictions and pay the US customs duty on the alcohol then you can travel to any state from the state you arrived and you are protected by the US Constitution which prohits any restriction of commerce between states.
My suggestion on packing wine which I have used many times. Put the wine bottles in a wine cardboard or wood case designed for shipping wine (wine sellers will always give you one). Then get a slightly bigger box which has at least 1 inch but not more than 2 inches on each side of space. In Europe and most of the world they use expanded polystyrene (same a foam coffee cups or cheap coolers) in big sheets 1 inch and thicker as building insulation. It is readily avaiable and cheap. Put that between the inner wine box and the outer box and you have some killer packing for cheap. Then mark the outside of the box as something undesireable. I use “Fragile Medical Samples in Glass”. This prevents the wine from being stolen by luggage workers. Enjoy!
On May 22nd, 2008 at 9:13 pm ,Poll: bringing wine home in an age of baggage charges | Dr Vino's wine blog wrote:
[...] Bringing wine home from overseas Permalink | SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Poll: bringing wine home in an age of baggage charges”, [...]
On August 28th, 2008 at 6:41 am ,Getting smashed: flying with wine, revisited | Dr Vino's wine blog wrote:
[...] Bringing wine home from your travels “Puzzle of the day: where can you fly with wine in the USA?” Permalink | [...]
On December 29th, 2008 at 9:58 am ,jason wrote:
It’s been posted above that New York state does have a restriction on the amount of wine you can bring bak. Anyone know what this amount is?