Buy Online in Europe; Ship to USA? Any experience?

[Jhcolman]

Hi

There are wines that I might wish to acquire that are only available in Europe. And other wines that I may wish to purchase direct from the winery or negotiant. Additionally, as I peruse Winesearcher, I find that many European wines are very considerably less expensive in Europe. This is ofcourse no surprise.

So I am exploring buying wines online from European retailers of repute (based upon Winesearcher ratings), and also direct from wineries, and shipping to NY, USA.

I have found a service called Wineflite ( http://wineflite.com ) that will pick-up the wines as I buy them, consolidate them and ship cases to a US address for $290 US per case, including packaging. This equates to $23 a bottle. The savings that I expect to see generally well exceed that amount, often substantially. Wineflite handles the entire customs process.

Still, I am a tad nervous about this process. I am a Canadian that has been buying from US retailers and auction houses without problem. I ship to a proximate US location. Shipping has been easy, relatively inexpensive and trackable. Buying direct from European retailers and wineries will be a significant next step.

Has anyone had experience in this? Has it worked out well? Any advise, based upon your experiences?

Has anyone shipped via Wineflite? What was your experience?

Jhcolman