Comments on: Getting smashed: flying with wine, revisited

By: HOWTO: successfully check wine on a plane | Dr Vino's wine blog

HOWTO: successfully check wine on a plane | Dr Vino's wine blog — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 11:59:47 +0000

[...] RSS, daily email, or free monthly updates by email (right sidebar). Thanks for visiting!After two bad wine travel experiences this summer, I finally got it right about ten days ago. Returning by plane [...]

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 05:29:51 +0000

I found something similar, re-usable bags for transporting wine at http://www.winemummy.com. They are one size fits all.

By: Sean Meyer

Sean Meyer — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:32:59 +0000

Wineskin! Thanks for the correction. There are lots of good ideas here for DIY solutions.

By: Wine Enabler

Wine Enabler — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:11:25 +0000

I second the Wine Skins — fantastic.

And I agree that wine should not be cooked in a luggage hold on a plane. Outdoor temperatures can get down to -70 F that high up.

By: grayman

grayman — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 03:02:45 +0000

I’ve brought back wine from overseas on numerous occasions and have never had a problem: I ask the wine shop to pack up 6 bottles which I then check in as luggage. I’ve done this on 10 hour flights from Argentina to JFK and have never had a bottle break. I’ve never noticed any signs of the wine cooking—hard to see how given the cool temperatures it is subjected to in the hold. The TSA regulations mean that instead of bringing back a bottle or two as in the past, I tend to bring back sixes now.

By: Joe

Joe — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 04:10:33 +0000

Tyler – you can actually check one of those styrofoam shipping cases (I’ve done that) – never lost a bottle with one of those neoprene bags and lots of tshirts. Thanks for posting this – some great ideas in the comments (will pass on your cardboard box idea…)

By: Joe Sage

Joe Sage — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 02:34:04 +0000

My wife and I traveled back from Europe with 21 bottles, all rolled up in t-shirts and jeans. (Didn’t lose any of them.) We told Customs and they didn’t say anything. (Guess they’re only worried about terrorists and don’t want to deal with paperwork?) We checked a regular wooden wine 8 pack box coming back from South Africa – filled it with peanuts – no breakage. Haven’t lost a bottle yet and have probably hauled back hundreds. Oh, and, Dr. Vino, ahem … too bad it wasn’t a rosé that broke? ; )

By: Dylan

Dylan — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 20:56:14 +0000

Hahaha. Oh my, well, 5 out of 6 isn’t bad at all. I consider the t-shirt method one of my most trustworthy methods. I’ll usually accompany it with plastic wrap around the bottle before layering the t-shirt around the bottle. Sure, you could pay for a Bottlewise bag, but I say D-I-Y!

By: KellyE

KellyE — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 20:23:03 +0000

There are a few different options to the trusty (or not so trusty) wrap-it-in-a-t-shirt-method. I prefer the Bottlewise wine travel bag. It has two padded pouches with water-tight liners. Hasn’t failed me yet! Website is http://www.bottlewise.com

Thanks for the Richard Simmons pic. I needed a good laugh today!

By: Dr. Vino

Dr. Vino — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:37:39 +0000

Sean – yes, Brioni jackets! That’s what I meant instead of Tshirts!

Actually, that 3M wineskin thing looks great. It’s reusable, compact and, unlike styrofoam shippers, easy to pack out empty. (In an age of luggage surcharges, who wants to pay for an empty bag on the first leg of the trip?) United airlines should update their policy to include this as an option.

@jbh I’ve never had a problem of bottles becoming cooked (as I did in the car recently). From what I understand, the hold on a passenger jet is kept above freezing at something like 50 degrees. I suppose your bag could be placed near a vent but I don’t think getting wine cooked is a real hazard in checked luggage (unlike breakage). What’s your experience?

By: gary

gary — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:32:30 +0000

Sean, it’;s called 3M wine skin and is about $4 per “skin”

By: Sean Meyer

Sean Meyer — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:03:29 +0000

3M makes something, I think it is called the “wine sock” or something similar. It pretty much amounts to a bottle shaped piece of bubblewrap which creates a water tight seal around the bottle. It doesn’t always save the wine but it certainly takes the horror away should a bottle break next to your favorite Brioni jacket.

By: Wine Guy

Wine Guy — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:18:32 +0000

I admire the attempt. It’s so difficult to tell what will or won’t be confiscated at the terminal, I can see how the actual packing of the bottles could get overlooked. Maybe you need one of those padded_wine_totes – though I haven’t seen these in 6-packs so maybe the T-shirt packing is best after all.

By: gary

gary — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:02:46 +0000

I’d be wary of anything packed. You cannot trust TSA to repack even a styrafoam container. Tee Shirts are asking for trouble. Prior to the new rules I always brought back 4-6 bottles from overseas trips, but now I really sweated over a single bottle of wine given to me by Jean Luc Baldes of Clos Triguedina from his private cellar. I was immensely relieved that this time TSA did not go through my luggage for fear of having your result.

By: VinquireThea

VinquireThea — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:06:58 +0000

Oh dear! The tragedy of the broken pinot
Fortunately, it was only one bottle and not all 6. I don’t fly as much as I used to, but this is exactly why I save all those bulky shippers of yesteryear. My recent shipments have been greened, so I value those I still have left.

Eek! Richard, is that really what we want to see at the airport!