Originally Posted by
christep
I suspect it was a customs question in the interests of collecting duty, not a security question.
I don't think so. Customs agents in the states never care about a few bottles of wine. While you can bring 1 liter duty free, the paperwork to collect 20¢ or 30¢ duty for a half dozen bottles isn't worth their effort. I see reports of people who brought a dozen or two bottles from Italy or France in their checked bags, declared it, and customs just waived (perhaps I should say "waved") them through.