Logistics
Shipping Madeira wine home
You found a 30-year-old D'Oliveiras Frasqueira and want to actually drink it back home. Customs rules vary wildly by country. Here's what to know before you buy more than a carry-on bottle.
Last verified . Customs rules change. Always confirm current limits with your destination's customs authority before flying with quantities above the carry-on threshold.
The two paths
- Carry it home in your luggage. Easy for 1-3 bottles. Pack carefully (lodges usually wrap on request). Allowances vary by destination — see below.
- Ship it through the lodge. Blandy's, D'Oliveiras, and Barbeito offer international shipping. Slower (6-8 weeks), more expensive (€30-80 for a 6-bottle box depending on destination), but no airport stress and the lodge handles export paperwork.
Country-by-country
EU (intra-EU travel)
Free movement. Bring as much as you like for personal use. Rough "personal use" guideline is 90 litres of wine per person. No declaration, no duty.
UK (post-Brexit, 2026)
Personal allowance from outside the UK: 18 litres of still wine (~24 bottles) + 4 litres of fortified wine (Madeira counts here — that's ~5 bottles).
Above the limit: declare via the UK customs declaration service before arrival, pay customs duty + VAT (combined ~€10-15 per bottle for fortified wine). Possible but unpleasant. If shipping via the lodge, the lodge handles paperwork.
USA
Federal limit: 1 litre of alcohol duty-free per adult passenger. Above that, you pay duty + IRS taxes (~$2-5 per bottle for fortified wine, manageable).
The bigger issue is state-by-state shipping laws. About 12 US states either ban or heavily restrict direct international wine shipments to consumers. If you're shipping via lodge, ask them which US states they ship to before you commit. California, New York, Florida, Texas all generally OK; Utah, Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky often blocked.
Canada
Personal allowance: 1.5 litres of wine duty-free after 48+ hours abroad. Above the limit, pay provincial liquor authority markup + GST/HST/PST. Shipping via lodge is theoretically possible but Canadian provinces have liquor monopolies (LCBO, SAQ, etc.) that complicate direct shipments — often easier to carry it.
Australia
Personal allowance: 2.25 litres of alcohol duty-free. Above the limit, duty + GST. Lodge shipping to AU is available from Blandy's; allow 6-8 weeks.
Other (Norway, Switzerland, Japan, etc.)
Norway and Switzerland have very low alcohol allowances and high duties. Japan is more permissive but still has a 3-bottle/760ml duty-free limit. Confirm with your destination's customs authority before you commit to a large purchase.
Practical tips
- Pack carefully if carrying. Most lodges have wine-shipping boxes and bubble-wrap behind the counter — ask. Wine wrap goes inside soft clothes in check-in luggage; never carry-on.
- Bottle size matters for allowances. A standard bottle is 750ml. A half-bottle is 375ml. UK / US / Canada / AU rules are by litre, so a half-bottle counts as 375ml not as 1 bottle.
- Lodge-shipped wine arrives in 6–8 weeks. You'll get a tracking number; the lodge handles the export documents. UK/EU: simpler. US: lodge will tell you if your state is reachable.
- Save the receipt. Customs may ask for proof of value. Lodge receipts with EUR amounts are universally accepted.
- Madeira wine survives the trip exceptionally well. Unlike most wine, Madeira is heat-stable — it's already been heat-aged for years. A bottle that sits in a hot cargo hold or on a Phoenix doorstep is fine.
This is not legal or customs advice. Rules change. Confirm current limits with your destination's customs authority before travelling with quantities above the carry-on threshold. We update this page annually but you should still verify before you commit to a large purchase.