[Idyllchat] (Idyllchat) flying with wine

[robert w. miller]

Wow!  Already 10 responses to the subject of how to carry wine, and it looks 
like the number will further increase.  Never can tell what subject will get 
the Untourists excited.

Bob Miller
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jerry Clancy" <jclancy at billtrak.com>
To: "Julie Phillips" <julieannephillips at gmail.com>; "alan rudolph" 
<aldorudy at sbcglobal.net>
Cc: <idyllchat at lists.untours.com>
Sent: Monday, April 09, 2007 12:41 PM
Subject: Re: [Idyllchat] (Idyllchat) flying with wine


> Julie,
>
> The short answer is that shipping it back insured can be very expensive 
> and I never thought worth it when you looked then at the total cost of the 
> wine plus shipping except for the very best wines.
>
> When we went to Tuscany as a group of four (returned as three, leaving a 
> daughter to tour more of Italy), I brought along an empty, mid-sized piece 
> of luggage specifically for bringing back a case of wine. Back in the '70s 
> and '80s, when I had frequent business trips to Italy and, particularly, 
> France, I would do this routinely after just heading down the wine aisles 
> at a local Parisian MonoPrix (supermarket) and grabbing whatever struck my 
> fancy (typically good Bordeaux). Yes, there are duty-free limits but the 
> duty on wine, particularly the high-end wine I was interested in (Brunello 
> or Borolo), is a pittance compared to the value of the wine itself, so 
> don't sweat the duty. And with three of us returning and declaring 
> everything as a group, the customs folks just waived it on through. Being 
> a group also helped with the baggage allotment.
>
> For price comparison, we brought back 1995 Brunello (a good year), 
> purchased on the Le Chiuse Estate where we stayed, for about $25 a bottle. 
> At the time (2001) a similar bottle here in the States was retailing for 
> about $55-$60. Now they can be much more, rangin to $100, though lesser 
> quality Brunello's can be had at some discount stores at sub-$50 rates.
>
> Brunello's are made from 100% Sangiovese grapes and so have the advantage 
> that they continue to improve with age. We still have one of those bottles 
> left in the rack. Weddings and other happy occasions were cause to consume 
> the rest.
>
> I would not do this for Chianti except for the best Riserva's but for 
> Brunello it's a good deal. And, yes, bubble-wrap it. Never had a broken 
> bottle. I also liked Christine's idea about zip-locking everything but I 
> would never have the patience to do it. I think it's a guy thing. However, 
> bringing along a dedicated piece of luggage for this purpose avoids the 
> need to do this.
>
> As for the risk of my luggage spoiling that of others, well, all I can say 
> is share a plane with me at your own risk.
>
> Jerry
>
>
> At 12:01 PM 4/9/2007, Julie Phillips wrote:
>
>>What about buying a case of something like wine or olive oil and shipping 
>>it back to the U.S. -- is that crazy expensive?
>>Julie P. in Athens, GA
>
>
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