Wine

Can I take Wine across a border? Yes in many places, with conditions. Of the 26 country-rules we've indexed for Wine, 12 are allowed (often with limits), 14 are restricted (permit, declaration, or quantity cap), and 0 are prohibited outright. Customs rules depend on the destination, the purpose (travelling, posting, importing personally, or importing commercially), and the quantity.

Wine is an alcoholic beverage produced from fermented grape juice, with alcohol by volume typically ranging from 9% to 16% for still wines and 5%–12% for sparkling wines. It is one of the oldest and most globally traded food and beverage categories, produced in over 70 countries with major production centers in France, Italy, Spain, the US, Australia, Argentina, Chile, and New Zealand. Wine differs from spirits in customs treatment because its relatively low alcohol content results in different duty structures, and many countries apply lower tax rates per liter of alcohol to wine than to spirits, particularly where wine is a culturally significant domestic product. The EU maintains a complex system of protected designations of origin (PDO) and protected geographical indications (PGI) for European wines — terms such as Champagne, Bordeaux, Rioja, Chianti, and Prosecco are geographically protected, meaning wine labeled with these names must originate from the specified regions and meet production requirements. Misuse of these designations is a commercial fraud violation. Australia and New Zealand apply bilateral wine trade agreements with the EU protecting the use of geographic names. The duty-free allowance for wine specifically is distinct from the spirits allowance in many countries: India permits up to 2 liters of wine duty-free in addition to its spirits allowance; the UK permits 18 liters of still wine duty-free. Muslim-majority countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, and parts of Malaysia and Indonesia prohibit all alcohol including wine. The Maldives permits alcohol consumption only in licensed resort facilities. Zero-alcohol wine products exist and are generally not classified as alcoholic beverages for customs purposes, though they may still require food import documentation.

Common mistakes with Wine

• Assuming the rules at the origin apply at the destination — they don't. The destination customs authority is the binding rule.
• Travelling and posting are treated differently: an item you can carry may be prohibited by post (and vice versa).
• Personal vs commercial intent: above a quantity threshold, customs may treat your shipment as commercial regardless of intent.
• Undervaluing on the customs declaration to avoid duty — treated as fraud in most jurisdictions.
• Vague item descriptions on CN22/CN23 — biggest single cause of postal customs holds.
• Combining duty-free shop purchases with travel allowance — both count toward the destination's allowance.
• Missing required certificates (phytosanitary, veterinary, CITES, prescription, product compliance).

Always verify against the destination's customs authority before acting. Not legal advice.

HS codes

• 2204.21 — Wine of fresh grapes, in containers holding 2 litres or less
• 2204.22 — Wine of fresh grapes, in containers holding more than 2 litres but not more than 10 litres

Regulatory trend

https://www.oiv.int/en/oiv-life/oiv-report-on-the-world-vitivinicultural-situation — OIV 2023: wine trade regulations stable globally; duty-free allowances unchanged in major markets since 2015

Excise duties

This item is subject to excise duty in the following jurisdictions. Duty is typically collected at the border in addition to any customs tariff.

Names in other languages

es

vino, vino tinto, vino blanco

fr

vin, vin rouge, vin blanc

de

Wein, Rotwein, Weißwein

zh

葡萄酒, 红酒, 白葡萄酒

ja

ワイン, 赤ワイン, 白ワイン

IATA Dangerous Goods classification

• Class 3Flammable liquids
  CARRY-ON OKCHECKED OK

General notes