Send Wine home from Nice?
 

We are returning to Nice this spring. We usually bring an extra suit case for wine we pick up. We just use laundry and bubble rap to pack it. The extra luggage is a pain to lug around.

Anyone have any experience shipping a case of wine home from Nice?

One wine we like , and it's not available in the US is "Chateau Romanin , Rose, Les Baux De Provence ". On our last visit to the winery, we asked if they could ship a case home for us . They acted like that was an unusual request. Would a wine store in Nice do this for us routinely?

Any other suggestions or tips appreciated. thanks.

First, the U S Postal Service regulations prohibit the carriage of wine, so you will have to use a shipping service or courier. As far as I know, further:

U S Customs and Border Protection will collect duties (it is not duty free) of $1~2 per liter, and enforce the laws of the state your shipment is entering (not arriving in) the country.

In your instance, beyond this, Virginia's laws about the importation of wine and taxation will also apply (assuming you reside in Virginia), I believe.

So, according to the VABC you are limited to one gallon of alcoholic beverages, including wine, unless you are relocating to Virginia and wish to import such beverages as part of your household goods - in which case you need to apply for a permit to do so. However, if you have your wine shipped by a licensed shipper, you may have two cases shipped to your home. (See page link below to link to resources to find a licensed shipper.)

As to whether the costs and fees incurred are worth it, only you can decide.

A bit complicated? ABC laws are some of the strangest and most ununified in the USA...

Link to State of Virginia / VABC page regarding shipment of wines.

Link to USCBP page on shipping of wine for personal use.

a packed case of wine weighs in at about 50 lbs. check shipping on 50lbs.
the wine will go through temperature hell(both high and low) on the shipment. many wines do not hold up well through those changes.

using bubble wrap or mache separaters and laundry are as good as anything i have found. we have a couple old samsonite indestructables and put 11 bottles in each case(under 50 lbs), and shipping them as luggage on the plane the best way to go. i have been in and out of iad a number of times, and they do not trouble themselves with collecting duty on wine. they have never enforced VA laws on me. are they even on VA land? i do realize they collect VA sales tax at IAD stores and restaurants.

I guess I'll stick with the suit case.
thanks,

I think that will significantly uncomplicate your life. I've never had CBP at MIA, DFW, ORD or JFK genuinely try to enforce California laws, but as stated above, it's usually the entry state that counts (though I think as long as we aren't trying to get away with something like duties evasions they are not going to get tough on us).

Only time I saw any hassle was arriving fro MEX at SAT - the Customs guy would not allow the chap to enter US / TX with his booty of whiskey, so the chap raided the paper cups and handed out free whiskey to arriving passengers rather than allowing Customs to confiscate it. ;)

Haha, the same situation when transferring at LHR, there was this guy offering good Grappa in small paper cups. I politely turned his offer down, as I were to drive within 3.5 hours

:eek:

the us duty is by the alcohol content. each state can set it's own import regs. most of the time, the person working customs knows the federal regs, but does not know the state regs. that's not just for liquor, but everything else i have ever brought in in commercial quantities.