Rules on Transporting Wine out of EZE to the USA
 

What are the current rules on transporting wine out of EZE to the USA? I checked as baggage two cases of Gaucho1K-supplied wine onto a flight on the 31st of October without problems, but there was a recent thread on the UA forum where a guy was saying wine could no longer be checked.

Gaucho1K, can you enlighten us with an airline-by-airline breakdown?

PS: Perhaps this information should be made into a sticky.

I am of the (uneducated) opinion that checking wine is acceptable still.

When I returned from BsAs a week ago I couldn't carry/check any additional luggage and I emailed Gaucho100 about him shipping some to me. He indicated that for under 24 bottles it was better to check the wine.

He also said he has some cardboard (?) transport containers that are appropriate for checking 6 bottles of wine.

I'm assuming it is okay to check the wine, since, when I return at the end of this year I plan to do some serious wine shopping at terroir.com.ar

Rita

To the best of my knowledge, all airlines still accept wine as checked items. If someone could point me to the thread where UA appears to have given a pax trouble with wine I would greatly appreciate it. I will also call UA here in Buenos Aires tomorrow and reconfirm with them on what their policy is.

The best available (and the only reliable) packaging is professional grade styrofoam wine shippers, these are reinforced cardboard boxes with styrofoam inserts that allow you to safely check wine to your final destination.

I checked wine last weekend out of Germany into the US on US Airways. No problems at customs whatsoever (it was declared). You may have to pay a duty on it if it is above the allowed personal exemption amount, but you should have no problem keeping it.

I usually don't go so high tech when checking wine back in my checked luggage, but I'm not buying super expensive wine, either. The bottles fit nice inside of an athletic sock or two, and then further wrapped in an article of clothing. I usually use the straps that are inside my luggage to strap them all down afterwords.

Thanks BillScann for pointing out the thread. I will report back once I get more information from United here in Buenos Aires.

wines and US Customs service
 

As the issue of US Customs is mentioned above, I would like to share what I know regarding bringing in wines to the USA when you are above the duty free allowance.

US Customs is very easy going with wines, provided that you declare every single bottle you have with you. I have a significant group of customers that are serious "whinos" and will sometimes carry back 3 cases (yes, 36 bottles of wine) and regularly have no issues bringing in the wine.

Again, whats important is that you place every single bottle you have on your customs declaration form, and if you get asked questions, as long as you can convince them that you are not in the wine trade (ie. that the wines are not for resale - that they are for your own personal use) almost every time the customs folks will not bother to charge you tax & duty. As far as Ive researched, the reason for this is that the US doesnt charge duty based on the value of wines, rather on the alcohol content, so since most wines have an average 13-14% alcohol content in the end even if you have 3 cases of wines its not worth their time to write you up and charge you what they are supposed to.

However, please do not try to scam the Customs guys and say you have 4 bottles of wine when you are carrying 6... since if you get picked for a spot check and they catch you with a lie, they will give you the full Midnight Express routine... :eek: :eek: :eek:

On a final note on how Customs are with wines, I have one interesting anecdote to share.... last month, I received the visit of a retired member of Congress who purchased 3 cases of wines to take back home with him. He asked a lot of questions about duty free allowances and listened very carefully to what information I gave him. This gentleman travels with an aide/personal assistant, and I remained in email contact with the assistant to make sure that the Senator´s wines arrived well, etc. I was surprised to hear from the assistant that upon entry to the US, the Senator had to insist the Customs agent charge him the duty, as he wanted to play 100% by the rules.

I´ve always declared the specific number of bottles of alcoholic product I have and have never had a problem (maximum 7 or 8 total). As far as checking liquids goes, I´ve done it for the first time today. Boxed Pisco with 2 thick socks around the bottle in the box, then a tshirt around the box, and then plastic bags around. I also bought duty free in SCL, which they bring to the plane, but then I´ll have to get it in my checked luggage in LAX prior to the connection. Bleh. SCL security also took away my water at the screening point even though it is an hour with no US flights (with a 7 hour connection).

Bleh. I would have bought more wine in Mendoza last week, but it just isn´t worth the hassle. I just bought enough to share w/friends in Santiago upon returning here.

UAL Buenos Aires confirms wine is OK for checked bags
 

I just got off the phone after a good 15 minute conversation with the folks at UA Buenos Aires.

I first spoke to a very friendly agent who said that there are no restrictions regarding wine in checked baggage, whether placed in the passenger's luggage or checked in separately. I explained about previous experiences with different interpretations of the rules, and the friendly agent suggested that in such a case, the pax should request to speak to a UA staff member and if needed, to the station manager to clear things up.

The agent was really helpful and even reconfirmed all this with his supervisor, who eventually came on the phone and re-confirmed all this directly with me. The only possible "issue" that came up in the chat with the supervisor was that if a check-in agent thinks that the wine is not properly packed, the pax may be asked to sign a waiver (this will not happen if wine is presented in styrofoam wine shippers).

I wonder what kind of packing the airport, at least in SCL, puts them in. For the first time, I saw signs that if you are flying to the EU (unlike the US, where everyone claims @ first point of entry), your duty free purchase will be delivered to and placed inside your CHECKED LUGGAGE and you will first encounter it at your final destination. I wonder if EZE is doing the same thing, and that whole setup doesn´t sound so hot, except there is no other way for connecting EU pax to get wine home.

This sounds bizarre.... in practice, this means that airport staff need to OPEN your bags and place Duty Free items INSIDE your suitcases....????

:confused:

Yes, this is what the signs basically said - for all EU passengers that had a connecting flight. I read it a few times because I could hardly believe it.

I checked in 12-bottle cases EZE-JFK 3 times in 2006 without any problems at EZE or at JFK (I always declare the actual amount I paid in wine).

ssoul-- have you ever been written up by US customs for the wine (ie. gotten taxes and duty charged)?

Yes, once, comig from EZE but with check-in at MVD. Had to pay $40. They calculated $4 per bottle on 10 of the 12 bottles. I still don't know where the $4 came from but I wasn't going to argue...

Thanks for sharing your experience.... I dont recall having any customer being written up before.

Where do you "declare" wine on a US customs form? On the back there is a list for itemizing but I never bother filling it out and I think the small print says that you only have to fill it out if above $800 or something like that.

Yes, its on the back where you should declare the no. of bottles of wine you are bringing into the country.

I don't know where they got that amt from either. We flew back from Italy last May, arrived at EWR with 8 bottles and the calculated amount was something like 17 cents per bottle. Needless to say, they didn't bother.

When we returned from EZE last November we decided not to bring any wine back, due to the TSA security hassles, etc. At the EZE airport x-ray we were specifically asked if we had any wine in our checked luggage. I didn't think to ask why since we didn't have any.

Gaucho100K,

Where do you get these special styrofoam packing boxes? Do you know some wine merchants in BA who have them? Are they much of an extra expense?

I am visiting BA in 10 days and then leaving for a 2 week stop in SCL before flying back to YYZ. I know exactly what I'll pay when I get home and I'm SE on AC so I have extra baggage allowance. How will customs at SCL react if I try to bring cases into Chile? And would you trust the luggage storage place at SCL with storing them if I brought them in?

I'd appreciate your advice on my many questions. I'd love to bring a few cases home.

A question on your x-ray experience... I assume you mean when your carry-ons were x-rayed...? I ask this because your checked luggage gets x-rayed after the airline desk checks you in, or did you get some sort of secondary screening for your checked bags that involved an xray machine?

Ive heard the question of wine in checked bags by some of the security folks that grill you before you get to the check-in desk, but in my experience this step never includes an x-raying of the bags, if at all there is a hand inspection.

On this issue of wine in baggage, there are continuos report of folks being harrassed by these private security folks that dont work for the airlines, each with their own interpretation of what one is allowed to put in your suitcase. Dont let these guys bully you, you are allowed wine in your suitcase, just ask to speak with a supervisor of the airline.

Please PM me on the styrofoam case issue, Id be happy to assist you.

I doubt SCL customs will give you any issues, you are a non resident of Chile and are only there on your way home. You will be OK. Also, I would have no issues with leaving the cases at SCL left luggage facility, Im sure its perfectly safe to leave some things there and collect them on your way out.

When I checked in with DL at EZE in late November, with a case of Gaucho-supplied wine, the DL agent told me that if I had 6 bottles they all had to be 750 ml, not 1 liter, because DL's maximum amount of wine they allowed checked in the hold per package was 5 liters.

Don't know if they were making this up or not.

No problems at ATL customs, no charges. And TSA at international bag re-check insisted that they x-ray by hand with other fragile items so that it didn't go on the main x-ray processing belt where "things get knocked around some".

Mark, thanks for sharing your experiences. The 5 liter "rule" sounds to me like just another of these free interpretations... :rolleyes: I mean, whats the difference between 5 and 6 liters of wine?

It would be great if airline employees could point to a part of the website where the rules are spelled out in print, so there is no room for funny interpretations.

Gaucho: It was the private security folks you describe above, I am sure that was it. I got the impression it was just to be aware of the glass containers before x-ray, but I apologise I did not ask. Since we did not have any wine with us, I just answered "no" and went to the TA.

The 5 liter rule is very real on certain US airlines, not for wine but for hard liquor. It's 5l per person, not per checked bag. This is something I investigated very thoroughly before a recent trip to Mexico...

Wrong airline I know but this points to specific limits by alcohol content.

http://www.aa.com/content/travelInfo...horEvent=false

Recognize that individual US states, not Federal law, will set importation limits at point of US re-entry and that Federal Customs staff will be responsible for implementing state law in these circumstances.

3Cforme-- thank you for providing the link, very good information. Perhaps its relevant to discuss in further detail a few issues that come to mind:

i) as you correctly point out through the provided link, the 5 liter limit per pax is for hard licquor, and is therefore not applicable to wine. There is no set limit as long as its in "retail packaging".

ii) I agree with your point about Federal Customs Agents enforcing the regulations and limits related to what you can bring in to the USA... however, where do the airlines come into play here? If someone wants to bring back X amount of wine and deals with the airline on the issue of bags checked and total weight (all this is done at the airport of departure), it would appear that the issue of customs & duty is something to be settled upon arrival & entry into the USA - and is a separate issue to the actual transportation of the goods.

How does wine travel?
 

Hello everybody, and Gaucho100K in particular...

So I travel to Argentina fairly often (once a year, my family is there) and I always brought a few bottles of wine back to the US, but only on my carry-on.

I was under the impression that wine might not travel so well in the regular luggage compartment, due to the pressure/temperature changes, and that it might be "spoiled" by that. Is this a complete fantasy? Will wine travel OK in my checked luggage?

Thanks for the clarification!

E.

Wine will be fine if you check it in. The cargo area in passenger aircraft is pressurized and temperatures are also controlled. While it may get a little colder than the main cabin, your wine will not freeze.

Having said that, remember that wine in your suitcase may mean stained clothes... if you must do this I suggest you wrap each bottle with protective material such as bubble wrap, etc. The best solution is to use styrofoam shippers and check these as regular baggage.

important: 5 liter rule does not apply to wine
 

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

Good news for those wanting to bring back a nice quantity of their favorite Argentine wines to the US. Here is the official rule explained on the TSA website. The 5 liter rule applies to flammable products, but wine is not one of the substances that is regulated because it does not fit into the alcohol content category. Please see below in RED the limitations for hard licquor, and in BLUE the explicit exclusion of liquids such as wine that are below 24% alcohol content:

Carrying Alcohol In Your Checked Baggage

Please note, you can’t take alcoholic beverages with more than 70% alcohol content (140 proof), including 95% grain alcohol and 150 proof rum, in your checked luggage.

You may take up to five liters of alcohol with alcohol content between 24% and 70% per person as checked luggage if it’s packaged in a sealable bottle or flask.

Alcoholic beverages with less than 24% alcohol content are not subject to hazardous materials regulations.

Link to the TSA website:

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtrav...rial_1189.shtm

Here is a handy link to a printer friendly format PDF file that lists details on what you are allowed to carry in your baggage:

http://www.tsa.gov/assets/pdf/Prohib...ly_3-16-07.pdf

On page 2 of this document, check the middle (center) column under the item "Additional Useful Information:" where Alcohol is discussed. There, it is clearly stated that the 5 liter rule applies to alcoholic products with alcohol contents of between 24% and 70%.

This document, in addition to a print out of the other link posted above that specifically deals with alcoholic beverages with less than 24% alcohol should be enough to end any discussion with an ill-informed gate agent.

Link: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtrav...rial_1189.shtm

update - CO changes its wine transport policy
 

Important update: with the help of FT and thanks to a member that is part of the CO Management Team, CO has announced that it has changed its Wine Transport Policy out of EZE. This is great news for all EZE visitors, and means that CO will now join the ranks of wine friendly airlines that operate from EZE !!! ^

Please see the CO related announcements on this thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=719146

Thanks Gaucho100k
I just made it back home with 14 bottles of wine.:D One case and 2 in my check bags.:rolleyes: The packing case I received from you worked GREAT. At check in the United gate agent marked the case fragile and just smiled.
At US customs they did not even stop me, just waved me thru.

Congratulations on the new member of the family.

Hi Twobyte.... glad you made it home with your bottles... ^ Thanks for the well wishes... :D ^

I brought 12 bottles back from EZE came in via ATL in January. I didn't have to pay duty. The only bad part was the wine made it on 4 flights w/i south american and EZE-ATL fine but one bottle broke from ATL-SYR.

How did you pack your wine...?

Alex,

I forgot to tell you, but when I muled-back two cases of wine from your shop last November, I was delayed by customs for close to an hour as I waited to pay $6.43 in duty.

-Bill

LAN Chile Rules
 

I'll be in EZE with the family for all of November: what are LAN's rules on wine shipments as checked baggage to the USA?

-Bill

Hi Bill... sorry to hear this happened. Good news is that you now have a US$10 credit waiting for you, with our thanks for your understanding.