Buying Wine at Airport Duty Free

Hubby and I are from the Toronto area and really enjoy ice wine. We were thinking of buying a bottle to enjoy while we're on the cruise (Regal Princess, Eastern Caribbean). We're flying from Toronto Pearson Airport to Fort Lauderdale the night before, so we were planning on hitting up Total Wine at the Harbor Shops but when I looked at their website, their ice wine selection isn't very big. Then I was thinking, maybe the Duty Free Store at Pearson would have a larger selection since ice wine is a Niagara specialty and it's close by - plus with the Canadian dollar, it may work out better. I've never bought alcohol at Duty Free before - is there anything I need to be aware of before we do this? Will we run into any problems or extra costs bringing wine (within our import limit) into the U.S?

Hubby and I are from the Toronto area and really enjoy ice wine. We were thinking of buying a bottle to enjoy while we're on the cruise (Regal Princess, Eastern Caribbean). We're flying from Toronto Pearson Airport to Fort Lauderdale the night before, so we were planning on hitting up Total Wine at the Harbor Shops but when I looked at their website, their ice wine selection isn't very big. Then I was thinking, maybe the Duty Free Store at Pearson would have a larger selection since ice wine is a Niagara specialty and it's close by - plus with the Canadian dollar, it may work out better. I've never bought alcohol at Duty Free before - is there anything I need to be aware of before we do this? Will we run into any problems or extra costs bringing wine (within our import limit) into the U.S?

For the most part, "duty free" at an airport is no great deal. In fact, I find much of what they sell to be overpriced. For example, a liter bottle of Bombay Sapphire is much cheaper at Costco than at any "duty free" shop in any of the many airports I've been through. Same goes for better wines that are not some unknown "local" product.

That said, you are correct that you won't find much of a selection of "ice wine" outside of the farther north area/region where it is produced. We spent a few years in upstate New York and, coming from northern California, we were somewhat surprised at the popularity of extremely sweet wines in general and ice wine specifically.

Check out http://www.empirewine.com, which is located in Albany NY. They have a great mail order operation and extensive wine offerings with excellent prices. I'm betting they have a decent ice wine selection. If you're staying overnight at a hotel pre-cruise, you could (theoretically at least) have Empire ship it to the hotel where you could pick it up. On the other hand, maybe you could consider some sweeter variety of an Alsacian style wine from the Finger Lakes area, which should be available at Total Wine. Can't help with any recommendations since even slightly sweet/too fruity wines are not on our radar. Of course, a Muscat Blanc or Dry Riesling from Navarro in Mendocino County, CA would be a nice summer sipper.

If you want just buy at the LCBO & pack it in your checked bag pack carefully in bubble wrap & a zip lock bag ;)

Probably better to buy at home as it is a specialty item unlike gin or vodka

Not sure on how much you are allowed to take to the USA but 1 bottle each would probably be OK

Not sure if the Duty free shops at YYZ have a list of what they carry but you could check there as well

As long as you are flying Non stop to Fla the duty free purchases will be fine to carry on

JMO

You could call the duty free location & see if they carry the kind you want

http://torontopearson.com/en/shopdinerelax/duty-free/#

Or if flying A/C you could see if the have it for onboard purchase

AC has a few you can pre order

http://acdutyfree.com//index.php?cPath=51&sort=1a&page=7

I can't speak on the LCBO vs. duty free but I can tell you that in Vancouver, the duty free and the liquor store prices are almost the same without the selection.

You must be able to either put it into you checked luggage before it is checked or carry it in your carry on. To do the latter you must make the purchase after you last security check.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. We don't want to risk packing the wine in our checked bags and we have a direct flight to FLL so we'll stop into the Duty Free to see what they have. If they don't have anything we like, Total Wine can be our back-up. We thought it would be a nice thing to have in our cabin since we'll be celebrating both our birthdays on-board, but it's not like we'll be devastated if we don't have it. Thanks again for your help!

You must be able to either put it into you checked luggage before it is checked or carry it in your carry on. To do the latter you must make the purchase after you last security check.

Not sure what happens at US airports but at YYZ you pick up the duty free at the Jetway

No chance to put it in checked bags

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. We don't want to risk packing the wine in our checked bags and we have a direct flight to FLL so we'll stop into the Duty Free to see what they have. If they don't have anything we like, Total Wine can be our back-up. We thought it would be a nice thing to have in our cabin since we'll be celebrating both our birthdays on-board, but it's not like we'll be devastated if we don't have it. Thanks again for your help!

Some shops carry special bottle bags that you can pack in the suitcase

I have seen them in Zehrs at the wine shop there

EG:

http://www.amazon.com/Safeguard-Reusable-Bottle-Protector-2-Pack/dp/B00DZ1K1F0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455139580&sr=8-1&keywords=bottle+armor