Importing wine to the UK from abroad

This is a collaborative post: Few people think of the UK when discussing where their favourite wines come from. This is in spite of the fact that, as a culture, we have a major love affair with wine. The reality is that, while there are some great British wines today, the majority of good wine comes from abroad.

In terms of access, this isn’t too big a problem for most casual wine drinkers. Imported wine costs more, but the big names are available. However, for those of us who love trying good wines, the price of imported wine adds up, and the more niche labels aren’t so easy to find.

For this reason, you may be considering importing wine to the UK from abroad yourself. That way, you can avoid paying the markup that the major importers charge. The question is: does importing wine yourself make financial sense?

Let’s take a look at what you need to do to import wine to the UK from abroad.

Bringing wine home

Before we start discussing shipping wine to the UK, you might be interested in what restrictions you face when bringing wine home from a trip abroad. This is the cheapest way of bringing in wine, if you are already making a trip to the country where the wine is produced.

British customs law allows you to bring in up to 18 litres of wine without paying tax or duty. This is as long as you do not plan on selling your bottles of wine. As soon as you try to bring in more than 18 litres, you will have to pay customs taxes.

It is important to note that port, sherry, and sparkling wine are measured differently. With these kinds of wine, you can only bring 9 litres all in all. If you are bringing a combination of regular and sparkling wine, calculate the literage of sparkling wine as 2 litres of regular wine.

Of course, 18 litres of wine is not a lot for people who drink regularly, especially in large groups. Unless you are travelling every few weeks, you won’t be able to maintain a steady supply.

Importing wine from abroad through shipping is more complicated. Before we discuss the expenses and complexities, these are the countries from which you might want to consider importing wine. They are the best options considering the quality of their wines as well as the expenses.

Best countries for importing wine

Since we are taking costs into account, we will focus on European countries. After all, importing from European countries is still far cheaper than importing from further afield. While there are excellent wines you can import from countries like Australia and South Africa that are fairly cheap, product-wise, shipping alone makes their wines significantly more expensive.

It is also more difficult to import from these countries considering few individuals are doing it (the vast majority of imports coming through retailers).

France is the obvious choice, considering both its proximity and reputation for having some of the best wines in the world. You don’t have to do more than read the names of most of the varieties of wine you drink to see France’s impact on wine. Technically, you could spend every second weekend visiting France, bringing back all the wine you need. But most of us will have to settle for importing.

Spain is another great option. Spain produces some incredible wines that are also relatively cheap. Wine flows from fountains in parts of Spain, and you can get it imported without too much hassle.

Finally, Italy has to make the list. Even if it was only for the sheer quality of their wines, Italy would be here. The fact that it is close by and affordable means it deserves pride of place.

Importing large quantities of wine from abroad

Let’s say you decide to go ahead and import wine from your favourite wine country. How do you go about it and how do you minimize costs?

Your first step is to find a distributor who is not already selling it at too high a markup. These are the distributors the major importers get their wine from. If you buy from regular liquor stores abroad, you’re already paying a significant markup.

This process will be hit and miss. Some distributors won’t sell wine to small buyers. Try a few different distributors before giving up and going with a regular seller.

Then you need to get it shipped. Depending on who you are getting your wine from, they may do the job for you, saving you the trouble of having to find a contact in the country. However, it is easiest if you know someone there who will serve as a middleman.

The shipping company you use will give you a price based on the weight of your order. They will include the customs taxes and duties, which vary based on the price and weight of your order. Alternatively, you can pay taxes and duties yourself when your goods arrive in the UK. This may be worthwhile if you think you can get a better price, but you are unlikely to save much money.

The best option is to find as many wine lovers as possible and order batches of wine together. This will save you money on the administrative side, as well as the extra costs you would pay for additional shipping.

Minimising costs

Something you will face no matter where you are getting your wine from is money transfer costs. You will be purchasing wine in a different currency, and will have to pay a bank or money transfer company. The price of your wine will also depend on the current exchange rate. If the pound is doing badly or the euro is flying high, your wine will be more expensive.

The good news is that, for large-sum bank transfers abroad, there are money-saving options. International money transfer companies provide a cheap and easy way to pay for goods in other currencies. But how do they work?

The reason you should go with a money transfer company is that banks charge high fees for every international money transfer you make. They also take significantly longer to get the money to the seller. The process is laborious and slow.

Furthermore, they rarely give you the best possible exchange rate. Rather, they hide extra fees by giving you an inferior exchange rate.

International money transfer companies trade in billions of pounds, helping large companies as well as individuals sending home remittances. They use modern methods that are quick and easy and charge minimal fees. They also give you the best exchange rate.

You can use these companies to pay your suppliers directly. They don’t have to pay any fees upon receiving it and will also get the best exchange rate. You’ll also pay for shipping this way. However, paying customs duties and taxes in local currency is going to be cheaper.

The money you lose out on through money transfer fees and inferior exchange rates may not seem like a lot, but at scale they add up. If you are importing large amounts of wine and paying high shipping fees, you will end up saving money by using a transfer company instead of a bank.

Now that we know how to go about the import process, let’s discuss whether it is actually worth it.

Is importing your own wine worth it?

There is a reason most people don’t import their own wine even if they love foreign wines. The process is costly and only makes financial sense if you are bringing in large quantities of wine. This is perfect for major retailers, but what about us? Are we bringing in enough wine for the savings to be worth the effort?

In terms of costs, you will be paying a supplier as well as shipping fees for your wine. If these were the only fees, your wine would be significantly cheaper. However, it is at customs that the expenses start to grow.

Customs taxes and duties inflate the cost of your purchase. These costs make sense to retailers who will be selling at scale. But for individuals, they come close to slashing any real savings. By the time you have paid all your fees and received your wines, you will probably have spent almost as much as you would if you just bought from local stores.

This is not to say it is not worth it for you. There are certainly individuals who will be able to find the cheapest sellers, get shipping discounts, and minimise any external help so that no one else needs to get paid. These individuals may truly get a great deal at the end of the day.

However, if you are not willing to do the work, you probably should not bother. The reality is that the kind of money you will save is the kind of money you would gladly pay to avoid the hassle! There is, after all, a reason the imports-exports industry is huge.

What about wines that you are unable to get in the UK? If there are wines you want to try but cannot get from a local retailer, you can try to find a bottle online and have it shipped over. You will pay a bit more than you would in-country, but it won’t break the bank. If you fall in love with this wine, then you can start to think about getting your own import system off the ground.

The travel bug

While there are great niche wines around the world, you can get the most beloved wines in the UK without too much hassle. For those wine lovers who want to try all the different varieties across the world, the most rewarding way is surely to taste them on your travels.

When you go to France, Australia, South Africa, or Italy, go on a tour of the wine country. You will pay minimal sums of money to try wines you’ve never tasted before. If you fall in love with them, you can bring eighteen litres back home to add to your collection.

The past year and a half has been difficult in this regard, but as the world opens up again and things go back to normal, it might be worthwhile saving your time and money to actually enjoy the international wine tasting experience.