The Rue Pinard & DHL Partnership: How We Built a Fully Legal U.S. Wine Shipping Solution

From a Frustrating Problem to a Fully Compliant Solution

For wine lovers and collectors, few things are more exciting than acquiring a rare bottle. But if you’ve ever tried shipping wine across borders—especially to the U.S.—you know it’s anything but simple. Complicated laws, unpredictable customs delays, and hidden import fees often turn what should be an enjoyable experience into a logistical nightmare.

At Rue Pinard, we believe in making fine wine accessible to connoisseurs worldwide. But as our U.S. customer base grew, we faced a critical challenge: How do we ship wine to the U.S. in a way that is 100% legal, fully compliant, and completely hassle-free?

The Roadblock: A Mess of Laws & Regulations

Unlike many products, alcohol shipments are subject to a tangled web of regulations at both the federal and state levels in the U.S. Every state has different rules regarding direct-to-consumer (DTC) alcohol imports, and federal law requires strict oversight of international shipments.

We encountered three major problems:

1. Who can legally import wine?
   • Under U.S. law, only individuals can personally import alcohol—not businesses.
2. Customs clearance is complicated.
   • Without proper paperwork, shipments could be delayed, refused, or even seized.
3. Unpredictable costs.
   • Many importers get hit with surprise customs duties and taxes upon delivery.

It was clear that if we wanted to offer a legitimate and seamless shipping process, we needed to rethink our entire approach.

Finding a Partner: Why We Chose DHL

Rather than take shortcuts, we decided to build a fully legal shipping model from the ground up. That meant finding a logistics partner with the expertise to navigate customs and compliance.

We approached DHL, a global leader in shipping and international logistics, with a bold proposal:

🚀 Help us create a wine shipping solution that follows every rule—while still being fast, reliable, and transparent.

DHL was immediately interested. With their deep experience in customs clearance and import/export law, they understood the complexities of wine shipping better than anyone. Together, we started working on a step-by-step system that would guarantee legally compliant deliveries to the U.S.

Building the Solution: Step by Step

1️⃣ Defining a Legal Import Pathway

The first challenge was defining who the importer should be. U.S. law is clear: Only individuals—not businesses—can import alcohol for personal use.

✅ Solution: Our customers would be the official importer of record, not Rue Pinard. This classification ensures full compliance while allowing shipments to move smoothly through U.S. customs.

2️⃣ Creating the LOA for Customs Clearance

We quickly realized that customs would need a clear confirmation that each shipment was a personal import.

✅ Solution: We worked with DHL to create a Letter of Understanding (LOA)—a legally binding document that each customer signs at checkout, confirming that they are the importer. This LOA allows DHL to clear the shipment through U.S. customs without delays.

3️⃣ Eliminating Surprise Fees & Taxes

One of the biggest complaints about international wine shipping is unexpected duties and taxes that appear at delivery. We knew this had to change.

✅ Solution: We structured our pricing to include all import duties, excise taxes, and customs fees upfront. The price customers see at checkout is final—no hidden costs, no surprises upon arrival.

4️⃣ Optimizing Speed & Delivery Efficiency

Finally, we needed a system that wasn’t just legal but also fast and reliable.

✅ Solution: DHL helped us establish a biweekly shipping schedule from Amsterdam with 3-6 day delivery times across the U.S.

The Result: A Game-Changer for U.S. Wine Imports

After months of planning, testing, and fine-tuning, we officially launched our new, fully legal U.S. shipping process.

🚀 Customers now enjoy:
✔ Fast 3-6 day delivery with DHL
✔ Legal, personal imports with all paperwork in place
✔ No customs delays or seizures
✔ All fees & taxes included—no surprises
✔ Shipping to 48 U.S. states (excluding dry counties)

We didn’t just find a workaround—we built a completely legitimate and transparent way to ship wine to the U.S.

Why This Matters

Many companies in the wine industry operate in gray areas when it comes to international shipping. They take risks, cut corners, and hope their shipments won’t get flagged.

That’s not how we do business at Rue Pinard.

We believe rare wine deserves a rare level of care and integrity. That’s why we invested the time, resources, and expertise to develop a shipping process that respects every law, meets every regulation, and delivers your bottles safely—every time.

Experience the Difference

If you’ve ever worried about customs problems, unexpected taxes, or legal uncertainty, those days are over. With our new DHL-powered personal import system, you can order with complete confidence.

👉 Browse our collection and experience seamless, 100% legal wine shipping today.

Santé! 🥂

— The Rue Pinard Team