Traveling to Bordeaux

[vonhouser]

I'm traveling to Bordeaux next month, and would like to pick up some wine to bring back. The proprietor of a local wine store said it's not worth the trouble, since all the good bordeaux wine gets exported to the U.S.

Is this true?

[Innkeeper]

Don't agree for a nano-second, and am disappointed in the integrity of your merchant. There are two big advantages. One, if you shop carefully, you can buy the wine for much less over there. You are not paying for shipping and importing. Secondly, the wine will be shipped more diligently. When you put it on a plane and fly it back, the process is far superior to loading it into a non-temperature controlled container (most Bordeaux gets shipped that way) and taking the slow boat to Baltimore.

Bring as much back as you can carry. Be sure to declare every bottle on your customs form. In the worst case you will have to pay a small duty on bottles over your allowance, but most of time, they will just wave you through. The duty is so small, it is not worth the effort to fill out the paperwork. But, do declare all you a importing; you can get in big trouble if you don't.

[hotwine]

Your retailer is feeding you a line of B.S., Von. He just wants your business, pure and simple. Sure, a lot of the big names in Bordeaux export to the States (and to Japan), because those are the affluent markets that can pay top dollar. But a claim that "all of the good Bordeaux is sent to the States" is hogwash. Many fine small estates lack the production quantities to attract the interest of exporters (and importers on this end of the supply chain). Suggest you take the opportunity to sample as many as you can, from as many regions within Bordeaux that you can. Then make your own decisions. And welcome to the board, by the way.