I transported a case of wine in a Gaucho100K-supplied shipping container on LAN (EZE-MIA) to the USA without any problems.

One way you don't want to transport wine out of EZE is by purchasing it Duty Free at EZE. We did so a little while ago; there are no bargains there and limited selection.

There are two duty free wine stores at EZE, it appears. Both are packed in the early evening as most int'l flts depart. We knew we wanted some bottles that are difficult to find in the US. We asked the salesman, who was actually quite nice. He directed us to a few labels, that I was unfamiliar with, though we drink a lot of ARG wine at home. He even ran in the back to get a last bottle of one label. In any event, we bought those, took them home (no problem). Though on this score one word of caution: apparently a certain amount of time before boarding of each particular flight, maybe 30 mins or so, they stop sales of liquids/wines. Not sure why. We were within that window and I had to beg the checkout guy to let us proceed, which he eventually did.

Of course, a few days later when I googled those labels to see if they were available in my area they were -- indeed found pretty easily. And at cheaper prices. The few dollars per bottle isn't such a big deal, though on one bottle was cheaper here by well more than only a few dollars, it was just that I didn't get what I hoped to be getting, wines I couldn't find here. Lesson learned for the next trip.

Interestingly, at a few restaurants when I explained I wanted a wine, usually a Malbec, that wasn't easy to find or or one that was produced in smaller batches, I was always directed to something excellent. I wrote down those names and, sure enough, when I google those here they can't be found at all.

I should have spent more time at Gaucho's incredible and beautiful store, which is well worth a visit. Cheers

Bill... sorry I missed you this trip, but it was great to catch up with you by phone....

Cheers,
Alex

Duty Free at EZE is known to be free of duty but full of Airport Mark-ups.... so in the end, its no bargain when compared to any regular wine retailer in town.

On the issue of wines that are available in the USA.... as is correctly pointed out above, if the label is exported to the USA chances are you will be paying more for the same bottle if sourced in Buenos Aires (duty free or retail store in town). For those that have a real interest in wine, it pays to do your homework and seek out someone that tries to keep on top of the wines that are exported out to the USA.... else you can end up with some nasty surprises...

A little OT: How are the rules for Brazil?

And one more: Where is the best place to buy cuban cigars. In town with VAT reimbursement or in the airport? Is there a place in town you recommend or is the airport the best?

Wirelessly posted (Nokia N97 / Palm TX: Mozilla/5.0 (SymbianOS/9.4; Series60/5.0 NokiaN97-3/12.2.024; Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1; en-us) AppleWebKit/525 (KHTML, like Gecko) BrowserNG7.1.12344)

Beware of fake Cuban Cigars......

A couple of weeks late, but both Gaucho and Dante deserve huge props for providing exceptional service. We visited Gaucho's shop toward the beginning of our trip (a week in BsAs, a week in Patagonia), but didn't want to drag a case through the second half. Instead, Gaucho was willing to keep the wine, packed, at his store. We coordinated with Dante to have him pick up the case before he met us at AEP and transferred us to EZE. He charged an extra $15USD, certainly more than fair for the extra driving and coordinating he had to do.

Of course, our first two flights from Bariloche (scheduled 4M, then switched to Aerolineas) were both canceled, and LAN spent a good 90 minutes in BRC rebooking us on the later EZE-MIA nonstop (original award booking was EZE-SCL-MIA), since we were going to miss the international connection. It was a few very stressful hours for us, but everything worked out in the end -- Dante was still able to pick us up at AEP, three hours later than our original itinerary, and got us to EZE about 3 hours before departure, even in the midst of horrendous rush-hour traffic.

So, thank you to Gaucho for taking the time to help us with our purchase and being willing to hold on to the case for us. Thanks to Dante for picking up the wine first and being able to readjust your own schedule due to our cancelled flights.

No problem getting the VAT refund, either. Gaucho did a great job packing the box, complete with strap and handle to make it easier to lug. Of course, TSA cut all that off when they felt the need to rummage through the box on our last MIA-ORD flight. The customs guy at MIA asked what was in the box, I told him 12 bottles of wine, to which he replied, "Dessert!"

Thanks, guys.

Wirelessly posted (Nokia N97 / Palm TX: Mozilla/5.0 (SymbianOS/9.4; Series60/5.0 NokiaN97-3/21.2.045; Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1) AppleWebKit/525 (KHTML, like Gecko) BrowserNG/7.1.4)

Glad it all worked out... thanks for your visit !!

I have been flying from ORD->COR recently (via PTY, CUN, etc) and I checked a 12 bottle wine box down with me last time. I fly Copa Airlines and when I flew back with 12 bottles, it was a huge hassle - as they indicated I was only allowed to check 6 bottles. I couldn't tell if this was government or airline policy, and I eventually talked them into letting me check the whole case, but I was wondering if anyone knew if the rules for transporting wine out of Cordoba are different than BsAs? (It seems from previous posts that checking a case at EZE is not a problem.)

I'm in Cordoba again, and I'd like to print out the policy or something to give to the airline employees when I check another case on my return trip. I've searched and even phoned Copa, but I can't seem to find a definitive answer. Any help is much appreciated.

It would seem to be airline policy. You might want to email Copa and see if you can get a reply, which you can have, in hand.

Just a caveat - with connections like you describe, depending on how long they are, and at what hours, you could end up with some cooked wine by the time you get to your destination.

If someone checks with Copa on the details, it would be great if you could come back to this thread and report the outcome.

Thanks!!
Gaucho100K

Funny Note: I just brought in 6 bottle into EZE this morning. The Customs Official said in Spanish �It like bringing wood to the forest� passed me with a smile

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Comment aside, Argentine Customs are not interested in wine... all they care about is electronics.

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Just to update this topic, I had a FTer visit the store last week and we packed 18 bottles in each of two suitcases...

He flew back on UA and had no issues. No comments from UA staff, no issue at US Customs after he followed my instructions to declare every single bottle he had... ^