Best Of

Henrypoon is correct in part - basic Valrhona chocolate can be found at US retailers like Amazon, King Arthur flour, etc but as you can see from the picture Valrhona has a very wide range that isn't found outside their stores or are very expensive.

Thank you @British @MikeHenderson @henrypoon_66 and double thanks to @Claudia Sails @kfnknfzk all very helpful. Now I want chocolate and wine for breakfast!

Our trip was in 2019, and our "assigned" tour director was Elisabeth--so caring and personable.

Just to clarify, duty (sales tax) is based on alcohol content, so you pay less on wine; ~ $1 - $2 per bottle...a pittance in my opinion. Some states also have regulations. If you find something you just have to have, buy a case and ship it home. You can then "savor" and reminisce about your trip at home. Besides, who wants to deal with a potential customs check after a long flight home! Skål.

Warm wishes!

If you go to Valrona chocolate it's another place to stock up on items to bring home. The itinerary looks slightly different now than in 2014. We didn't get a class in chocolate making but could taste test all their chocolates. I wished I'd stocked up on the one that tasted like milk chocolate with caramel (caramelia ?). Here's a photo of the tasting display.

Valrona chocolate is everywhere and anywhere these days. I would not save luggage space for that! I think United will hand them out at their Trans-Continential flights in business class.

We had wine shipped from our Sicily tour . Don’t forget it’s quite heavy to put in a suitcase.

Wine, especially red wine, can be affected by heat. If you ship from France to the US, make sure you choose a fast shipping option and hope the wine doesn't get too hot in transit. Carrying might be better because you can keep the package in fairly cool surroundings.