HOWTO: successfully check wine on a plane
First time here? Check out the "site highlights," send in a question, subscribe to the latest posts by 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 from a business trip to the Windy City, I found myself unencumbered by either checked baggage or children. Thus the time was right to return to the storage locker that I couldn’t empty when we moved from Chicago over three years ago.
I bought two Styrofoam shipping containers at a wine store and filled them with 24 bottles, some collectible, others I could ditch if necessary. Since I was flying United, I was worried; readers have posted comments on this blog about rogue United agents refusing to check passengers with wine. And Paul Gregutt recently wrote about the experiences of some Washington wine country travelers who were only allowed five liters of wine (less than seven bottles) because the airline agent thought the TSA limit on spirits also applied to wine.
Before I hopped in a taxi, I asked the friend I was staying with to print two web pages. First, the United policy on wine in checked baggage, which has no limit, though it does state that wine must be in a “Styrofoam-type” insert. Second, the TSA rules on traveling with alcohol, which state that there is no limit on the amount of wine you can check. I wanted to have these printouts handy in case I got a rogue agent. I also wrote my name, address and flight number on a paper that I put inside the box before I sealed it with packing tape.
At O’Hare, I went straight to curbside to avoid a repeat experience of schlepping a bulky, handleless box any distance, as I have in rental car return lots on previous trips. Fortunately, the skycap was very polite and didn’t even flinch when I replied to his question that it was wine in the boxes. He just charged me $40, the current fee for two bags (the fee will be rising to $65 for two bags after November 10). In my euphoria of not having a problem, I gave him a nice tip.
When I collected my boxes from the belt on the other end, there were no wine stains that I had seen on my luggage the last time, without proper packaging. But there was “TSA INSPECTED” tape on the boxes. I just hope Hardy Rodenstock wasn’t on TSA duty that day.
Funny, but only after I made it home safely did it occur to me about insurance. I usually rely on my credit card to automatically provide me insurance. But because I had cashed in that increasingly useless currency known as air miles for the flight, I paid only $5, the security fee, for my flight. Had the bags been lost, would I have been covered? I asked Mark Ashley, travel guru at Upgrade: Travel Better, and he told me that I would, in fact, be covered because I paid the entire cost of the ticket ($5) with my credit card (but this varies by card, so read the fine print or call for a “legal opinion”). Cheap tix, free insurance, unbroken bottles–I’ll drink to that!
UPDATE: if you’re traveling with just a few bottles, several commenters on the previous post recommended a product called the Wine Skin, which looks very good.
Related: “Puzzle of the day: where can you fly with wine in the USA?”
“Poll: bringing wine home in an age of baggage charges“
One of the "seven best wine blogs." 
One of the three best wine blogs
On October 2nd, 2008 at 10:15 am ,Dylan wrote:
It’s great to see improvement, this is above and beyond your past packing job you did.
Glad it was worth the effort.
On October 2nd, 2008 at 3:13 pm ,Chris C wrote:
Just came back from Cali with United and had no problem checking wine(they even put fragile stickers on my styro for me). Although I did have an entire row to myself in economy so I think I may have been in some other dimension of flight travel.
Best,
Chris
On October 2nd, 2008 at 6:04 pm ,Paul Gregutt wrote:
Many many readers responded to the column you mention, and a lot of them excoriated me for not suggesting that they simply have the wines shipped directly from the wineries where they were purchased. However, that will not work in all instances, may be even more expensive than the usurious baggage charges being piled on by the airlines, and risks wines being broiled, boiled, frozen or simply confiscated en route. So I think there are no perfect solutions, but this is a definitely a topic worth tracking over time. Thanks for your insights!
On October 2nd, 2008 at 6:29 pm ,Andre Maltais wrote:
We now regularly send our visitors home with these shipping containers, which many wineries in Napa will provide for a discount. There is one type that has a handle that folds for shipping, but for those that don’t we fashion one out of additional packing tape, so it’s easier to lug around.
On October 2nd, 2008 at 7:42 pm ,Sarah wrote:
Styrofoam?…you devil.
On October 3rd, 2008 at 12:01 pm ,Dr. Vino wrote:
haha Sarah, indeed! I plan to bring them to my local shop so they can reuse them and give the boxes at least one more use.
On October 3rd, 2008 at 3:08 pm ,Zach wrote:
Lost 2 of my bottles at LAX. Mondo Cellars wine….the best in Paso Robles….I will miss my Mambo #5. Next time will use Shipper box.
On October 4th, 2008 at 9:11 pm ,Lisa wrote:
I travel to Australia for work every other month and bring wine home in my checked luggage all the time. I use a bag called Wine Mummy at http://www.winemummy.com. It’s less than $5 and re-usable. I’ve never had a problem.
On October 7th, 2008 at 10:22 pm ,Lulu wrote:
I travel a great deal and as I live part of the year in a Muslim country, I am constantly bringing wine and spirits into the country in my luggage (The laws for non-Muslims are kind of vague, and they don’t check ex-pat luggage anyway).
I use a combination of bubble wrap, duct tape and 2 gallon ziplock bags. My biggest haul was 17 bottles in one check and I’ve never had any spillage.
On November 13th, 2008 at 12:43 pm ,James wrote:
I am going to Belgium, and the only thing I can find is that customs allows 2 liters.
I have heard that I can bring more, if I check it. Its not specified on the site whether the 2 liter limit is Carry-on, or checked bags, or both.
Any guidence?
On December 12th, 2008 at 11:26 am ,The 1974 bottle of wine - Simpler Living - timesunion.com - Albany NY wrote:
[...] also recommend reading this post: How to successfully check wine on a plane. Posted in General | 2 Comments [...]
On June 28th, 2009 at 9:38 am ,summer wrote:
try the vinnibag…it works great and and is also a great gift item for all wine lovers!