Apparently this was common knowledge so this is really just for the other 2 people in the world that don't know: You CANNOT ship wine from Australia unless you have an export license and the receiving party in the U.S. must have an import license. I'm not sure if they have perhaps a minimum of bottles you can ship without that export/import license rule, but I called DHL and FedEx in Australia and they both cited the same policy.
You can, of course, have the winery ship it for you, but if you have a case (12 bottles I think), McWilliams winery quoted the cost to ship at about $300-400 AU door-to-door, so it's not even a direct ship. That amount ends up being worth it after the stress of trying to fit the bottles in your luggage, padded by that day's newspapers, along with your clothes, and hoping for the best that nothing breaks.
And yes, a better tip is to not buy that much wine or buy them online, but I had just eaten a kangaroo and an emu and was feeling empowered. Wines in luggage? Sure, why not?
Don't do it.
Leave a Comment
Sydney
email me
add as friend
on Dec 1, 2004
Comments for ccvisit about Sydney