Bring it as luggage. You are allowed "2*pc" for transatlantic
flights, which start and end with the single ticket. i.e.
CA-NYC-CDG-LYS is all at "2*pc" of luggage. A piece is l+w+h under
62", and weighs less than 32kg(70lbs).

A foam shipping wine case fits nicely into one of those maxi rollons
available at Marshalls, or some other discounter, and takes up about
75% of the space. The loaded rollon and wine weighs about 55 lbs. You
could take two rollons and still have a lot of room left for clothing.

or, take A big hardside Sampsonite, line it with bubble wrap or
towels, and put paper mache burgundy separaters on each side. Holds
18 bottles, and comes in at very close to, but under 70 lbs. Strap or
tape it up, as there is a finite chance that the handle will come off.
TSI or whatever may want to look at it, so I prefer the roll on
technique now. I used the Samponsite bag for years from Italy to US.
Carried 18 in the suitcase, and 6 in a carryon many times.

If you have "excess" luggage, do not load over 70lbs. The charge for
over 70 lbs is something like $5-10 per pound over! Ship a 3rd 70 lb
bag instead. The charge for that should be in the neighborhood of
$100. If you do plan to do that, keep calling the airline until you
get a firm answer for the cost of the 3rd bag. I have carried many
excess luggage containers Italy-US, but have never gone US-Europe with
excess luggage. (it is cheaper for me to buy a ticket to Europe, pick
up merchandise, get two pieces for free, and pay the $100 for the
rest, than to air ship the lot).

Far and away the cheapest way to ship US to Europe (Italy excluded) is
by USPS. Fed EX, DHL, and UPS are fantastically expensive. USPS has
a 3 day service arrangement with almost every country in the world,
Italy excluded.




On Sun, 10 Jul 2005 08:58:05 +0200, Mike Tommasi >
wrote:

>Hi
>
>anyone have experience with this? Does Fed Ex work, or the US mail? Do
>we get slapped with enormous duties on arrival, or some exotic tax on
>departure?
>
>I wil be in CA in september and I need to ship about 18 zins and 6
>mourvedres back to France. I guess carrying these as baggage on the
>plane will set me back a few $$$ so not a good idea.
>
>
>
>Mike Tommasi, Six Fours, France
>email link http://www.tommasi.org/mymail