Originally Posted by
Gaucho100K
Bring back as much as you care to carry, declare every single bottle and you will be fine. US Customes does not give a hoot how much wine you bring back, as long as you declare everything. At my wine store, I offer a money back guarantee on all Taxes that any US Customs Officer will want to charge... thats how well I know how the system at US Airports operates.
As for the cardboard shippers, the only ones that work are the ones that have styrofoam inserts... if they are only hardboard, I would not trust them to hold wine safely. Your best bet is to buy proper Wine Styro Carriers and just use that box as another suitcase.
To clarify, US custom duties is based on the total value in addition to the quantity. As long as you declare all purchases and wine (just list x bottles of wine) and the combined value, and if it's less than $800-1000 total they will waive the duties. However, knowing what Gaucho has to offer, you may be testing the limit.
Alos, some of the better wine shipping boxes now have cardboard inserts - not the plain, cheap, single panel dividers you find at your local grocery/liquor store, but ones with full bottle enclosure. And they are recyclable. You can check the box as a checked luggage by itself.