Import Champagne to United States

The US Champagne market

The United States is the largest export market for Champagne by value, with demand concentrated in on-premise accounts, fine-wine retail and the gifting channel. For a French négociant it is a market defined as much by regulation as by taste: every bottle passes federal and state gatekeepers before it reaches a restaurant list or a shelf. We work with importers and distributors who already hold the right permits, so the commercial conversation stays on cuvée selection, pricing and replenishment rather than paperwork you have to solve on arrival.

Import requirements

Imported wine moves through the three-tier system: importer, distributor, then retailer. The importer of record holds a federal Importer’s Basic Permit issued by the TTB, plus the relevant licenses for each state where the wine is sold, and every unique label needs a Certificate of Label Approval (COLA) before importation. Federal excise on naturally sparkling wine is $3.40 per wine gallon, about $0.67 per 0.75L bottle, with reduced CBMA rates available to electing importers assigned credits by the producer; state excise and sales taxes come on top and vary by state. The customs duty line itself is modest (19.8 cents per liter), but a 15% tariff on EU wine entered force in July 2026 under the US-EU trade agreement, and the implementing mechanics have shifted during the year, so confirm the current landed-cost treatment with your customs broker. We prepare the export documents so your broker and federal filing have what they need.

Shipping from France

Shipments consolidate in the Champagne region and move by road to a French port for ocean freight to the US East or West Coast. Transatlantic transit from Le Havre to the East Coast runs 9 to 15 days port to port for full containers and around four weeks for part-pallet LCL volumes, with door-to-door programs typically landing in 3 to 5 weeks including clearance. For heat-sensitive cuvées we can arrange temperature-controlled containers on request, quoted per shipment and recommended for late-spring and summer sailings. We quote EXW at the cellar, FOB Le Havre and DAP to your warehouse so you can match the incoterm to your own logistics.

Why buy through a négociant

A single négociant relationship gives a US importer access to multiple grower and house cuvées on one invoice, one shipment and one set of documents. That lowers the cost of building a broad Champagne range without opening accounts across the region individually, and gives you a single contact for availability, allocation and reorders.