WineLovers Discussion Group

Hello everyone!

Curious: can I (as a foreigner from overseas) send (by mail, i.e. USPS) a Baltimore resident a single bottle of wine as a present?

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
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„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti

Hi David!

Unfortunatley shipping wine by USPS is not allowed. Don't try it.

You can if your local post office accepts it for delivery.*

I have in the past sent single bottles to the US by normal post and they've been delivered OK.

You'll have to put a customs statement slip on it. I know of others who have described the contents (fairly accurately) as 'grape juice'

*you only asked abut sending it Whether the US customs etc will let it through I don't know. They'll be very busy this time of year.

Shipping wine into Maryland has recently become more confusing as Maryland law now allows US wineries to ship direct to Maryland customers. However, other wine purveyors are NOT allowed to ship directly to Maryland customers. Shipping for private consumption is generally allowed within certain limits. A 750 ml bottle of wine is almost certainly within the legal limits. I wouldn't try anything larger.

This won't help, but I know that a few years ago, when it was absolutely illegal to ship any wine to Maryland, an individual I am acquainted with received one case of wine (clearly marked with it's contents) and a single bottle on two different occasions - all with no problem.

Via USPS it's not technically legal but it's been (ahem) done.

I'm not sure what the status of the MD laws are for receiving shipments of alcohol from an individual.

Luckily here in the District we can send or receive booze willy nilly. Just carted home 4 bottles of Gård received from WA yesterday.

Don't ship USPS. There is a good chance that your wine will be confiscated.

I believe that it is technically not legal to ship wine to Indiana but I have it done all the time through the various delivery companies. I don't know the situation in Maryland, but the shippers may do the same thing for you.

Kelly Young wrote:Luckily here in the District we can send or receive booze willy nilly. Just carted home 4 bottles of Gård received from WA yesterday.

I know of the vinobenefits of being in DC, Kelly. Other than the case and two bottles I mentioned above, I would always have wine shipped to my office in DC and cart them home, usually six bottles at a time since I took the subway. I friend of mine is opening a restaurant in DC and loves the way he is being treated by DC regarding his restaurant wines.

For what it's worth, over the past two months, I've received five different shipments of wine from various sources, with no problems whatsoever (I live in Maryland). Of course, none were from overseas and all were sent via UPS or FedEx.

two thoughts. does the person you want to send it to have someone on DC who would receive it for them? if so, problem solved. if you send it, the main problem is where it will 'clear' customs. Fed EX is used to dealing with these issues. assuming that a fed ex shipment would arrive at Dulles, i'd have the recipient call the fed ex office there and ask about the prodecures. your recipient may have to drive to dulles or they may be willing to deliver. but someone at the fed ex dulles will know.

I've been purchasing wine delivered to my home in northeast Maryland for the past 10+ years and never had a problem. Like David suggests if you could purchase from a vendor in the States delivery is no problem.

Drew

James Roscoe wrote:Shipping wine into Maryland has recently become more confusing as Maryland law now allows US wineries to ship direct to Maryland customers. However, other wine purveyors are NOT allowed to ship directly to Maryland customers. Shipping for private consumption is generally allowed within certain limits. A 750 ml bottle of wine is almost certainly within the legal limits. I wouldn't try anything larger.

I am not sure about this James. Last time I read the law and it may have changed since then one needed a permit to move one's cellar to Maryland as part of establishing a new residence in the state and then only lic companies could perform the move. I did not see anything that defined the size of a cellar for the provision to apply. You are correct about carrying in wine for private consumption when purchased from out of stat but not sure the same rules apply once its shipped. That being said, I did ship back (via UPS) about 12 cases from our Central Coast trip last year using a company that does wine fulfillment for a number of wineries in the area and had no problems. I never understood how it was legal but the company was sure it was legal and I had no issues.

The laws in MD are very inconsistent and will probably end up with further court intervention. I will say that my daughter carries wine from SC all the time on Southwest without difficulty. It's nice to have a family member itb!!!!!