The number of bottles of wine you can bring back from France depends largely on your destination and local customs regulations:
- Within the European Union, you can bring up to 90 liters of still wine per person for personal use without strict limits, which equals about 120 standard 75cl bottles.
- For travel to the UK, the limit is up to 18 liters of still wine per person, which is about 24 standard bottles.
- For the USA, you can bring 1 liter duty-free, and more is allowed but subject to customs duties.
- For Canada, the duty-free allowance is about 1.5 liters (2 bottles), with duties applying beyond.
If traveling outside the EU, such as to the UK or the US, you should keep receipts and declare the wine if exceeding duty-free limits. The wine must be for personal use, not for resale. Travel frequency and quantity brought back may be scrutinized if excessive. In practical terms, for a traveler returning to the UK, bringing back up to 24 bottles is allowed; for the EU, it's much higher but should be for personal use; for the US and Canada, only a few bottles duty-free, with taxes on excess. Safe packaging is also recommended when transporting wine in luggage. Summary in bottles (standard 750ml):
Destination| Allowed Wine Volume (liters)| Approximate Bottles Allowed| Notes
---|---|---|---
EU countries| Up to 90 liters| ~120 bottles| Personal use, no strict limits
UK| 18 liters| 24 bottles| Per person, keep receipts
USA| 1 liter duty-free| 1-2 bottles| More allowed with duties
Canada| 1.5 liters duty-free| 2 bottles| Duties on excess
Thus, how many bottles you can bring back depends on where you are returning to and how much wine is for personal use.
