Is there any advantage to buying wine duty free?

[Waiters Friend]

G'day

I'll use Dom Perignon 2008 as an example. At Perth airport, it's about the same price that you can buy it at Dan's, give or take. In Dubai, the conversion from USD worked out about the same. So, if this is prevalent around the world, is there any benefit to buying wine duty free to bring into Australia?

BTW, we actually bought Australian wine duty free to bring into Italy, because we knew we would be craving WA chardonnay (Leeuwin, Cherubino, Brookland Valley) But the prices were full retail.

Cheers
Allan

[GraemeG]

I tend to use DP as the benchmark too - the big Mac of the wine world, at least as far as availability goes! And I came to the same conclusion as you. Maybe it's cheaper in HK, but wherever I've looked - Singapore, Frankfurt, Seoul, Tokyo - there seemed to be no price advantage. And distinct storage risk.
Maybe you'd consider buying something because it's too hard to find in Oz, but that's the only reason I could think of. And let's face it; anything for sale in an airport is probably available here anyway.
I did buy €160-worth of wine from the Georg Breuer cellar door in Rüdesheim last year, and in what I thought was an inspired moment of brilliance, asked about VAT refunds. Sure, they said, and gave me a bunch of paperwork. I reckoned I'd get at least a €30 back.
But at Frankfurt airport, I descended into the farce/tragedy of the refund counters, which involved queuing three times, wasting about two hours I could have spend drinking crap wine in the Lufthansa lounge, and all for a miserable €6, after fee deductions. As a credit card refund.
So it's not something I'll bother with again!
cheers,
Graeme

[JamieBahrain]

I get an airline crew discount of between 10 and 20 % and these days rarely use it .

A better strategy can be to buy well and get the TRS at the airport which gives back approximately 25%.

Italy has crafted whites like Margaret Rivet - try Gai and Rey with age if possible . Otherwise I’m sure you will find a style suited amongst amazing local grape varieties such as timorasso etc

[TiggerK]

Yeah, the duty free prices on wine at Sydney airport are a total joke.

Spirits can certainly be good value (apparently), but I do find some Champagnes can be decently priced, but not all. I saw Tattinger Comtes 2006 for $225 in April, still annoyed I didn't grab one at the time! And Krug NV is typically around the $230 mark, hard to find that price at retail. I think DP 2008 was going for $220 at the time, don't think it's that cheap at retail often?

P.S Speaking of Dom 2008, I suspect there are some really variable bottles around retail (likely warm transport storage) of the DP 2008 around, I've had 3 bottles so far, the first was amazing, the second lifeless and dull (cork pic), the third somewhere in between. Only one proper cork on the three, the others shrunken and thin.

A tale of two corks, Egly Ouriet Grand Cru vs Dom Perignon 2008.

[img]http://www.grapemates.org/files/TimMiscStuf ... ium%29.jpg[/img]

Cheers
Tim

P.P.S Taking wine into Asia I can understand, but taking AU wine to Italy?? Thousands of grape varieties, 6000 wineries, but none as good as Brookland valley Chardonnay eh?

[Polymer]

The Dom price in Sydney Duty Free is halfway decent...but that's about the only wine I can say that about...

Really depends on the AUD though....right now with the weaker AUD, sometimes things aren't too bad....

[phillisc]

DP 08 is currently $220 at a large chain for members.
I only buy spirits and have found two bottles of Tanqeray at Adelaide for $58 hard to beat anywhere, Tescos and Salisbury's in the UK are cheaper for Champagne and yes will take risks of buying international wines in the actual country. I found a bottle of Krug NV in a bottle shop in Bath last year for 118 pounds...guess that's comparable with anything duty free, and probably a more credible bottle. St Henri at $40 AUD and John Riddoch at $50 AUD less than Adelaide prices, in the bloody Harrods wine shop left me dumbfounded.

The prices on Henschke and Pennies actually make the CD or large retailer prices look considerably cheap.

Cheers Craig

[felixp21]

no

[felixp21]

I get an airline crew discount of between 10 and 20 % and these days rarely use it .

A better strategy can be to buy well and get the TRS at the airport which gives back approximately 25%.

Italy has crafted whites like Margaret Rivet - try Gai and Rey with age if possible . Otherwise I’m sure you will find a style suited amongst amazing local grape varieties such as timorasso etc

yes

[Diddy]

I've used the TRS option a handful of times without any issues - always seems to come out better than buying at the airport (for table wines).

Only disadvantages are you need to spend more than $300 at the one shop within 60 days of travel.

Additionally, you have to check the wine into your luggage (added weight + risk of breakage + risk of heat damage).

[Mahmoud Ali]

P.P.S Taking wine into Asia I can understand, but taking AU wine to Italy?? Thousands of grape varieties, 6000 wineries, but none as good as Brookland valley Chardonnay eh?

My thoughts exactly!

[JamieBahrain]

Additionally, you have to check the wine into your luggage (added weight + risk of breakage + risk of heat damage).

Heat damage would come from extended tarmac time which can be mitigated by late check-in with lots of insulation ( clothes ) . Breakages unlikely with experienced packing . I move 300 bottles back to Australia annually in check-in .

More of a risk can be extreme cold if the aircraft’s heating system in the extreme of the cargo hold u/s.

Agree to take wine to Asia - except HKG! You should pay half of what you do in Oz.

[Mahmoud Ali]

I only buy spirits and have found two bottles of Tanqeray at Adelaide for $58 hard to beat anywhere ...

We have it much better here and, coincidentally, a few days ago I found a local retailer selling the 750 ml bottles for $20.99 + 5% GST so snapped up a bottle.

We hadn't had any G & T for some time so on my way home I stopped in at the super market where they had 2L bottles on sale for $1.25 each. Bought two of them and later realized that I then had too much tonic for a single bottle. Had to go back another day to buy another two bottles of the Tanqueray.

[Mahmoud Ali]

There aren't many advantages to buying duty free but I have taken advantage on several occasions where prices were keener than at home or wines that are not available. For several years when I was passing through Heathrow, Terminal 5 was my go to place for Chateau Musar and Faustino I Gran Reserva at a third of the price. Kemal Attaturk airport was where I was able to pick up some Turkish wine made from unique varietals and not available in Edmonton.

[phillisc]

I only buy spirits and have found two bottles of Tanqeray at Adelaide for $58 hard to beat anywhere ...

We have it much better here and, coincidentally, a few days ago I found a local retailer selling the 750 ml bottles for $20.99 + 5% GST so snapped up a bottle.

We hadn't had any G & T for some time so on my way home I stopped in at the super market where they had 2L bottles on sale for $1.25 each. Bought two of them and later realized that I then had too much tonic for a single bottle. Had to go back another day to buy another two bottles of the Tanqueray.

Mahmoud, if that is a one litre bottle of Tanqueray at 47% alcohol, then that's good going.
Cheers Craig

[Cactus]

I found scotch in Japan incredibly cheap. But you cant find their own whisky.

[TiggerK]

750ml Bombay Sapphire @ 47% alc
Six Pack Heineken
4 x 500ml Schweppes Tonic Water
4 x Limes
Big Wine Glass

$31AU in grocery store on Con Dao Island, Vietnam! Who needs duty free!

Needless to say, wine selections weren't good.

[sjw_11]

My tips on duty free...

Rarely if ever better value than a good deal on the high street.
There are odd exceptions- spirits are surprisingly cheap in German airports even when travelling "domestically" in the EU, but this is principally for Vodka. I have yet to work out why.

I would never buy DP or fine wine due to the risks of storage.

The local places specialties are almost always MORE over priced than the foreign spirits, e.g. French wine at CDG, South African wine at JNB/CPT, Vodka at St Petersburg (that was an eye opener- €20+ for Russian standard which was €5 in the 7-11s), etc. They trade on tourists grabbing a last souvenir.

Pricing is entirely haphazard. It is always worth checking- one thing might be 2x over priced and another thing cheap.

More often worthwhile when travelling to a high tax jurisdiction like Australia (or Singapore!) but what kills you is the double flight to Oz meaning you can't take your duty free from the first port onto the second flight, hence your only option is typically to buy at the stop, often Dubai or Doha. I have never seen a compelling deal at Dubai or Doha.

[phillisc]

750ml Bombay Sapphire @ 47% alc
Six Pack Heineken
4 x 500ml Schweppes Tonic Water
4 x Limes
Big Wine Glass

$31AU in grocery store on Con Dau Island, Vietnam! Who needs duty free!

Needless to say, wine selections weren't good.

Tim, what's not to love
Cheers Craig

[tarija]

Best reason to buy wine duty free is so one has something good to drink in economy!

[JamieBahrain]

$31AU in grocery store on Con Dau Island, Vietnam! Who needs duty free!

Needless to say, wine selections weren't good.

Six Senses has fair wines. Crazy expensive .

I went to Con Dao trekking last year.

[Ian S]

I remember when there were some really good little duty free shops. Simple places which seemed to take pride in sourcing some good produce that was representative of the local region and that would thus appeal to tourists wanting to take some of it home.

However pretty much all are now run as the worst sort of chain store, with a captive audience to prey on.

When going to Italy, I'll buy what I want out and about in the region, be that wines, cheeses, cured meats, beers, fresh pasta, nespole, mushrooms, etc. etc. When I'm in the airport I'll stroll round the duty free and occasionally pick up something to top up with, but recognising it's typically worse value than I've already bought. It can occasionally be convenient enough to justify a purchase or two, but in days gone by there was more that would appeal, and at better prices.

Apart from that, the brains of the operation will try out any new Kenzo perfume, but even that we'd rather buy from smaller shops in Italy as the experience is much more pleasant and we'd rather give them the business.

[Waiters Friend]

Thanks for the comments, everyone.

Firstly, the only reason for taking Oz chardonnay into Italy is we knew, regardless of whatever else we tasted on the trip, we would be craving some good WA chardonnay on our return. LEAS at the Perth duty free seemed like a good option, although at $92, roughly retail.

Secondly, Ian's comments especially and Jamie Bahrain's about sourcing what you like locally and then bringing it through in checked luggage is what has worked for me on previous trips and we will be doing it again. There's a couple of young (2013) Chianto Classico Graz Seleziones, a 2003 Montepulciano and a 2005 Sagrantino all safely tucked into the case. There may be more by the time we leave.

Therefore - no need for duty free on the way back into Australia - which was the reason for starting the thread in the first place.

Thanks
Allan

[TiggerK]

Duty free on the way into Australia seems even worse than heading out, certainly a much poorer selection in SYD.

And either way, I'd hate to imagine trying to take a corked bottle back!

[Mahmoud Ali]

My tips on duty free...

The local places specialties are almost always MORE over priced than the foreign spirits, e.g. French wine at CDG, South African wine at JNB/CPT, Vodka at St Petersburg (that was an eye opener- €20+ for Russian standard which was €5 in the 7-11s), etc. They trade on tourists grabbing a last souvenir.

Pricing is entirely haphazard. It is always worth checking- one thing might be 2x over priced and another thing cheap.

Excellent observations.

[Mahmoud Ali]

I only buy spirits and have found two bottles of Tanqeray at Adelaide for $58 hard to beat anywhere ...

We have it much better here and, coincidentally, a few days ago I found a local retailer selling the 750 ml bottles for $20.99 + 5% GST so snapped up a bottle.

We hadn't had any G & T for some time so on my way home I stopped in at the super market where they had 2L bottles on sale for $1.25 each. Bought two of them and later realized that I then had too much tonic for a single bottle. Had to go back another day to buy another two bottles of the Tanqueray.

Mahmoud, if that is a one litre bottle of Tanqueray at 47% alcohol, then that's good going.

No, it's a 750 ml bottle at 40% alcohol. Does Tanqueray make a 47% alcohol gin?

[Luke W]

Got 2 bottles of Dead Arm for $40 each at Brisbane airport when they had a buy one 2nd half price, could have got 2 x Grange for $1200. Not bad value when that happens...

[felixp21]

never, ever had a problem with breakages in travel. I bring back wine to Australia from HKG about 12 times a year, been doing it for 12 years.
go to Bunnings, spend $15 on a large roll of bubble wrap, and you have enough for about 50 bottles. Wrap them up, stick into middle of suitcase, and you have perfect temperature protection and damage control. You can also buy dedicated wine bubble wraps from various stores, if you wish.
l'Imperatrice in HK gives a sensational service, they individually bubble wrap for me, and I simply pick up the finished products!!

[JamieBahrain]

I bought Delsey’s 2.4 kg light weight, large suitcases .

I’ve filled them with bubble wrap, including wrapping the structural poling. Zippers are filled with bubblewrap. I get 12 bottles here at 21kg. Some clothes as insulation too.

I also use a styrofoam wine box x 12 which are common in HKG because of all the rich folks who air freight vino . 12 bottles 18 kg .

So every journey I bring back 24 bottles . 48 if wife in tow. Full family trip more . I want a retirement drinking Piedmont wine amongst local favourites

[felixp21]

I bought Delsey’s 2.4 kg light weight, large suitcases .

I’ve filled them with bubble wrap, including wrapping the structural poling. Zippers are filled with bubblewrap. I get 12 bottles here at 21kg. Some clothes as insulation too.

I also use a styrofoam wine box x 12 which are common in HKG because of all the rich folks who air freight vino . 12 bottles 18 kg .

So every journey I bring back 24 bottles . 48 if wife in tow. Full family trip more . I want a retirement drinking Piedmont wine amongst local favourites

? you declare and pay duty?

[phillisc]

I bought Delsey’s 2.4 kg light weight, large suitcases .

I’ve filled them with bubble wrap, including wrapping the structural poling. Zippers are filled with bubblewrap. I get 12 bottles here at 21kg. Some clothes as insulation too.

I also use a styrofoam wine box x 12 which are common in HKG because of all the rich folks who air freight vino . 12 bottles 18 kg .

So every journey I bring back 24 bottles . 48 if wife in tow. Full family trip more . I want a retirement drinking Piedmont wine amongst local favourites

? you declare and pay duty?

Yes that's the missing piece.
I am away with a party of four with generous baggage allowance, going on the above could bring back 8 dozen...pretty sure customs/government would be interested in such activity.

Cheers Craig