dustyrose

i dont know if this is the right place but here is my question we are kinda new to international travel , we are flying united to sydney and i wanted to get a couple bottles of wine after we go through security at lax , is there a place to get them so i can put them in our carry ons thank you, if so where exactly will it be i was told that we go to termial 6 to check in and im sure thats where we will be leaving from thank you so much

Irrover

There is a small duty Free in T7 half way down on the right. I do not recall if one also in T6. Sydney, usually leaves from T7, right next to the one to NRT)

number_6

Every duty free shop at LAX sells wine, but it is for a high price (typically double the Trader Joe price for the same wine, sometimes triple), and generally cheaper to buy wine upon arrival at SYD (which offers duty free upon arrival). Tequila is just about the only thing I've found sold at LAX duty free that is cheaper than at SYD, so kind of pointless to carry it with you just to pay more But if cost is a factor, cheaper to buy from TJ even with the cost of an extra checked bag fee (if you buy enough); for example TJ sells excellent Monopolowa vodka for $10/litre compared to triple that price in the duty free shop for the same quality.

dustyrose

thank you for that information i have a freind who would love some chardnay from our state ,of ca so its kinda hard to figure out if sydney airport would have something from napa ca or in that area there in thier airport, and packing in my suite case is a dangerous thing for me , since i know about tsa taking things out and stealing , and breakage , i could i guess buy napa chardnay on the ship since they do sell it there for a high price which i might do i will check once i get to lax and see what they have i just wanted one red and one white nothing more as a gift when we hit new zealand thank you all so much for answering my question again appericate it very much

JY1024

Since this query is specific to LAX, we'll shift this over to the Los Angeles forum. Thanks! /JY1024, TravelBuzz co-moderator

Michilander

A couple of things to consider.

The big name CA Chardonnays are probably already available in Sydney. What would be a real treat is if you could find a good Chardonnay that is not exported. Unfortunately, you are more likely to find these outside of the airport, which would mean packing them. You can get bags designed to protect the bottles in the luggage and contain the liquid if they happen to break. You could also use the bags to bring back a couple nice bottles of Australian wine for yourself.

Chardonnay is a white grape and it is not possible to make red wine from it. If you find something called a red Chardonnay it is a blend that is mixed with a red wine grape. If one is truly looking for a Chardonnay experience, I would expect it to disappoint. I'm not saying it would necessarily be bad, just won't taste like Chardonnay.

SoCal

I haven't had anything stolen by TSA, and a bottle of wine is inexpesnive enough that I wouldn't swet it any more than I would regarding a jacket or some shoes or many other things I'd pack. Breakage is a greater risk, but you can largely (not completely) avoid that risk by packing it well. I've done it, with hard liquor, more than once, with no breakage or theft problem. To pay a higher price, and with a smaller selection, in the airport or on board the ship because of the small chance of the bottle in checked baggage going missing just doesn't make sense to me. Sort of like insurance costing nearly as much as a car. There may well be wine available in duty free sales aboard the flight, but, again, a higher price and, even more certainly, smaller selection (and you don't know if they'd have Chardonnay; you could contact your airline to see what they do sell) than at a liquor store outside the airport.

mlshanks

I'd echo the previous folk in suggesting you simply buy your wine off-airport, and bury it in the middle of your checked luggage. If there isn't a Trader Joe's near you...there is one on Sepuveda a few blocks North of the rental car lots on the West side of the street. (...plus it's a great place to get carry-on snacks...and bribes for flight attendants )

ToneDaBass

Has anyone ever tried buying a bottle from the bar at a RCC or PC? Does this work?

Zarf4

Every Christmas friends in Oz have a blind wine tasting game where one has to sample wines & try and determine type, vintage, and origin. I usually have a candidate bottle packed in my luggage & have never had a problem. I have one of those vacuum food sealing machines and always double wrap & seal the bottle in heavy duty plastic just in case the luggage is loaded by a baggage handler sans an opposable thumb.

Will usually take something nice like a Rombauer chard, but have also taken a bottle of two-buck Chuck ($2 Charles Shaw from Trader Joe's) cabernet just for laughs.

As others have said make sure it's in the middle of the case and all should be fine.

p.s. wines are much more expensive in Oz, even Australian ones -- a nice bottle of Penfolds is usually about 25-50% less here especially if you factor in the weak USD

ToneDaBass

I just checked in the LAX United Club (the old Continental PC), and they do sell their bottles!!! They can't sell the house wine, but of the premium wines, they'll sell you any of them for $48. That's double the street price, but still, it's good to know we have options. I'm gonna try to find a duty free shop now and see if I can get something for a better price. I'm flying domestic, so I'll be charged tax, but it still might be a better value than the $48 UC wine.