Wine Doggy Bag Law in US (anything similar in Ontario?)

Salut/Hi Tom S,

le/on Fri, 13 Feb 2004 02:52:54 GMT, tu disais/you said:-

Nope, that's absence. Absinthe spoonerises it.

(I drive a Honda).

I have brought a lot of wine into the US and never had a problem with customs but have had problems with state officials. I brought a case of Grange into Hawaii and I had to pay for an importer's license (7 day permit was $14us) In Texas their state tax was more than the value of the wine.

Copied from the suggested web-site......

Alcoholic Beverages

Nonresidents who are at least 21 years old may bring in, free of duty and Internal Revenue Tax, up to one liter of alcoholic beverage--beer, wine, liquor--for personal use. Quantities above the one-liter limitation are subject to duty and internal revenue tax.

In addition to federal laws, you must also meet state alcoholic beverage laws, which may be more restrictive than federal laws. This means that if the state in which you arrive permits less liquor, wine, or beer than you have legally brought into the United States, that state's laws apply to your importation of alcoholic beverages for personal use.

I disagree with Ian on one point though.

It appears that in Massachusetts, the zero tolerance law applies to residents and nonresidents alike,

An interesting article appears at

The thought of alcho-police sitting around writing the tag numbers of interstate cars outside wine shops did bring a smile to my face!!!!!

Likely issue as Ian is probably on the list of persons making to many Anti-American Statements and therefore subject to stiffer rules. :-)

Salut/Hi Bromo,

le/on Sat, 14 Feb 2004 16:13:23 GMT, tu disais/you said:-

No, Bromo, sadly, state law can override Federal law. And in any case, can you imagine the scenario? I'm stopped by a customs agent, he finds wine, and then I insist on his name so that I can file a complaint.

HOW many weeks would it take me to get out of customs?

FWIW Ian, I have friends from the UK, Sweden, Norway and Italy who visit on a fairly regular basis and they always bring wine and have never had a problem. In many cases even the duty was waived since they were only bringing 4-5 750 ml bottles. Additionally there aren't any roadblocks, checkpoints or bordercrossing points between the states. Often except for a road sign on the interstate highway you aren't really aware that you're in another State so unless you committed a serious crime I'm sure that you wouldn't even show up on the radar screen. Bi!!

Ian Hoare wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

USDA is one of the worst at making anyone feel at home. They have even given me grief over sealed bags of dog food made in the USA that I take with me when flying with the pooch. And a word of caution never knowingly admit to having visited a farm!!! being the son in law to Osama bin Laden would be better than to be a farm visitor.

and immigration were pretty intimidating

USDA is one of the worst at making anyone feel at home. They have even given me grief over sealed bags of dog food made in the USA that I take with me when flying with the pooch. And a word of caution never knowingly admit to having visited a farm!!! being the son in law to Osama bin Laden would be better than to be a farm visitor.

Try entering New Zealand if you know how to spell horse. And of course you have to be sprayed for bugs before you can get off the airplane.

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I am wrong - sorry.

Dunno.

Sorry to disagree. State Law never overrides Federal Law. In there is a governing Federal Law in the USA it always supercedes state laws.

Even on Wine.

It just so happens most laws on alcohol are a states rights issue. However in the case of what you are allowed to bring into this country will be the same no matter what airport you fly into. If would be uniform if you were landing in NYC, Boston, Seattle or Jackson Ms.

Sorry to disagree. Federal laws and federal constitution is law of the land. States may not like.

If you call your airline you are traveling on they can give you the rules. Even as a foreigner you can bring in wine. Unless you are Moslem...then all bets are off.:-)

This is an exaggeration:

"These days you will rarely see MAF Quarantine Officers spraying arriving aircraft before the passengers and crew disembark. This is because most airlines now either treat their aircraft with a residual insecticide or undertake spraying in-flight. Both methods are approved by MAF and the World Health Organisation (WHO)."

Quote from Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF)website.

--brian