Duty Free Border Downtown | Wine

Duty Free Products

Wine

The sale of Wine in Duty Free shops is growing and has become a specialised category for Travel Retailers. Firstly, wine attracts “Duty” as well as “Sales Tax” (known as Valued Added tax in many countries), so Wine really is a Duty Free product when you buy in the official stores with Customs permitted tax concessions.

The second most interesting fact is that in most countries, the Duty Free Customs allowances for Wine, is often greater than the exemption limits permitted for other alcoholic beverages, such as Whisky, Gin, Vodka or Cognac. There is a lower alcohol content in Wine compared to Spirits so you are usually allowed to bring more home with you.

Sometimes the difficulty can be carrying the bottles with you, either through the airport security controls, or on to the aircraft. Many airlines impose limits for carry-on baggage and airports have controls for goods in transit, so this can add complication to your purchase.

But, with the opening of more airport arrivals stores and pre-order facilities, this can alleviate the problem.

Be aware that products such as Champagne are often described and categorised as “Sparkling Wine” by Customs and the traveller limits for this category is less than standard wine. It is important to check this, before you buy.

Another important issue relates to the consumption of the Wine you have purchased during your travels, especially when going on board a cruise ship or an aircraft. In simple terms, these Operators do not want you to “bring your own drink” with you, they want you to buy and drink the products that they sell to you. In fairness to these Operators, you couldn’t walk into a bar with your own drinks, so they do have a point. However, the issue to remember is that on most cruises, you can buy your Wine wherever you want, but it will probably be locked up in storage for you, until you finally leave the ship. On an aircraft, most airlines sell Wine from the bar, or even give it away free with meals (it depends on the airline), but do not even consider buying in Wine in a Duty Free store, then opening it in-flight. This is against most airline security rules.

Overall, if you wish to find specific Duty Free Wine prices or products, search your destinations above and where available, we will link you to the relevant outlets.