Transporting glass bottles in airplane luggage

[Kent Wang]

In about a month I will have some friends coming over from America to bring some bottles of liquor. Last time I did this I put each bottle in a gallon ziploc bag (in case of breakage) and then lots of bubble wrap. This is safe enough that you can drop the wrapped bottle four feet from the ground and it just bounces like a ball.

This may seem overcautious as some people have told me they just wrap the bottles in clothing but I have also heard of people doing this with red wine and the bottle breaking and ruining all their clothes.

But this technique is a less than ideal as you have to buy a bunch of bubble wrap and then it seems wasteful to just toss it away. The gallon ziplocs actually don't fit most bottles, you'd need an even bigger ziploc. I wonder if there was some sort of specially designed ziploc-type bag that's designed to fit a bottle and would be padded too. Then you could reuse the bags on future trips.

The Carpano Antica canister thread has a good tip of using the canisters to transport 750ml bottles, but I wonder if transporting Carpano Antica itself in just the canister is a good idea?

[Broken English]

I brought a bottle of limoncello, a bottle of saba and aged balsamic from Italy through six countries then back to Australia in my luggage wrapped only in clothes without incident. My bag copped some abuse too, being dragged through subways, and there was no hassles.

[Mjx]

Using canisters (with a layer of bubble wrap or something inside, for a bit more protection) should do the trick; I've also seen inflatable protective sleeves for wine bottles.

The bottles will probably be fine, but you might want to take a picture of your bag, showing the bottles' packed position.

It may sound overcautious, but I learned the hard way that the TSA is a little... unpredictable, shall we say, in it's treatment of the contents of bags (on my last trip, they managed to bend two metal candle holders--no idea how--that had been carefully wrapped to protect other objects near them), and if you file a complaint for reimbursement, the first thing they do is suggest you failed to pack things correctly, so evidence of care in packing is always a good thing.

[prasantrin]

I have a few Wineskins, but they are not reusable and they do not hold odd-shaped bottles well.

I would prefer Vinnibag because it's reusable and it seems like it would hold odd-shaped bottles better, but I've not seen one so I do not know for sure. It also looks like it would take up more room than a Wineskin, but that may not matter for you.

My top choice would be the WineHug. It's reusable and it seems like it would hold most odd-shaped bottles (though not very long ones). It's also more durable-looking than other similar bags.

There are many more options out there, but those are my top three.

Edited September 22, 2011 by prasantrin (log)

[Lisa Shock]

Bevmo sells styrofoam packing sleeves for wine bottles, they come as singles, doubles, and triples. I have used those on international flights without issue. I do place the entire thing inside of a plastic bag, just in case of cork failure.

[scubadoo97]

I stuffed 3 bottles of bourbon in my checked luggage after leaving Bardstown Ky. and only wrapped in towels and cloths. All arrived intact. We used a Wineskin to bring back some wine from our Napa Valley trip. Also no issues. The Wineskin can contain a spill if the bottle breaks but I don't see that it can be sealed well enough to be used a second time. It will provide protection from breakage but I don't think it will seal as well on the second use.

[dcarch]

Is cargo compartment of an airplane pressurized?

If not, stress can be created to a capped bottle.

dcarch

[Boilerfood]

My dad brought home a couple of bottles of Vodka from Moscow wrapped in nothing but his socks. They lasted fine. I attempted to bring home a bottle of Bonded Laird's and Rittenhouse BIB from San Francisco wrapped in my clothes and opened my bag to the sweet perfume of Applejack. Further inspection showed that the cap of my bottle had split along the seam, and about 1/4 of the bottle leaked out.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Do your countries not sell plastic bubble-mailer envelopes for bottles? How sad. I've used those to bring bottles of Pisco, Cachaca, and Reposado back to Canada with absolutely zero issues (and the Pisco bottles were oddly-shaped replicas of Inca potteryworks). Then again, perhaps LatAm and Canadian baggage handlers are gentler than their TSA counterparts?

[HungryC]

I've always gone the bubble-wrap route myself. But why toss it away? Unwound from the beverage packaging, it is easily re-rolled and stored for future use (eBay sales, etc). I have a bunch tucked away, with the wrapping paper, gift bags, and scissors.

[Beebs]

My husband brought me back Luxardo maraschino wrapped in bubble wrap in his luggage. TSA had unwrapped it, opened the sealed bottle (!!!), and rolled it back up in the bubble. We were more concerned about leakage than breakage.

Anyway, I keep a stash of old (clean) tube socks for this purpose. Shove a bottle inside a few layers of socks, plastic bag, you're good to go. Unfortunately doesn't work well for odd-shaped bottles.

[blue_dolphin]

Bevmo sells styrofoam packing sleeves for wine bottles, they come as singles, doubles, and triples. I have used those on international flights without issue. I do place the entire thing inside of a plastic bag, just in case of cork failure.

I used to just use a ziplock bag and wrap with my clothes but after an unfortunate incident with some red wine, I do the same as Lisa.

It's worth checking with the airline. Most have their policies available on-line. United's says:

When placed in checked baggage, glass bottles must be in a Styrofoam-type insert that is molded to the shape of the bottle and completely encloses the bottle

Sometimes I just check a case of wine as a piece of luggage and haven't lost any that way yet.

[dcarch]

"---It's worth checking with the airline. Most have their policies available on-line. United's says: ---"

Alcohol fume is explosive.

dcarch

[DickL]

Amazon offers several options. I searched "Home & Kitchen" for WineSkin and found five. The WineDiaper product looks promising. It got good reviews, but I haven't checked the reviews on the rest, so I don't know if it might be the best choice or not.

[ScoopKW]

1) Don't pack any clothes you care about. We usually make extra room in our luggage by leaving clothing in a drawer. For us, it's a vacation, not a fashion show. And if for some reason we need to dress up, we can always buy suitable clothes at our destination.

2) Ask for metal containers when shopping for wine and spirits. The storekeeper usually has a ton of them in the back, free for the asking. Clerks at wineries usually do such a good job wrapping bottles that nothing else is necessary. I pack the stuff I don't want ruined by an errant bottle in ziploc bags, not the wine or whiskey. If the bottle breaks, the plastic is likely to tear as well. We've had better luck bagging clothing. It also packs better -- squeezing all the air out of the bag.

3) We haven't lost a single bottle. But we did have an incident with German mustard.

[KD1191]

The WineDiaper product looks promising. It got good reviews, but I haven't checked the reviews on the rest, so I don't know if it might be the best choice or not.

We've used the Wine Diaper for years. The key with them is that they are not for protecting the bottle as much as they are for protecting the other contents of the suitcase. They offer minimal padding, but they are lined with super absorbent material that can quickly soak up the contents of any leaks or breaks. We put the bottle in a wine diaper, then wrap the whole thing with clothing or other padding material. We've never had a bottle break (probably 100 bottles of wine & liquor brought back to the U.S. in checked luggage with this method at this point) and the few times I've had seals/caps leak, the Wine Diaper absorbed everything and nothing in the luggage got wet or damaged.

Edited September 22, 2011 by KD1191 (log)

[Kouign Aman]

I say be cautious. I like the idea of protecting the contents of suitcase as well as the bottle. I too have packed many a bottle in just clothes and had it come thru safely. But, I've also had a bottle of kahlua break, not only messing up my clothes etc, but dissolving the glue holding the lining to the suitcase, and ruining the suitcase.

Getting away with it isnt a good reason not to take better precautions.

Thanks for the info re the wine diaper.

That, a sheet of bubble wrap (to protect for bouncing) and a sealed bag (food saver?) sound ideal.

[Paul Bacino]

Bubble wrap in a wrapped in a plastic garbage bag!!

[munchymom]

When I had a child in diapers, I would wrap bottles in a layer of disposable diapers and put the whole thing in a plastic bag. I'd forgotten about the whole thing until I saw that Wine Diaper link.

[nickrey]

Here's a novel one. If you've been skiing and taken your boots, these make fantastic containers to protect bottles. We have the Austrian schnapps to prove it.

[threestars]

Here's a novel one. If you've been skiing and taken your boots, these make fantastic containers to protect bottles. We have the Austrian schnapps to prove it.

Now that seems like a good idea. I also prefer the bubble wrap then wrap around clothes and placing it at the center of the package.

[Mjx]

Here's a novel one. If you've been skiing and taken your boots, these make fantastic containers to protect bottles. We have the Austrian schnapps to prove it.

Ditto for in-line skates; whenever I travel with mine, I pack any delicate objects inside them.

[MelissaH]

A few years ago, I brought back 4 six-packs of beer plus a few bombers. Any more than that, and the bag would have been overweight. Plastic wrap was easier to find than bubble wrap.

Each bottle got wrapped in plastic wrap as tightly as I could, both around the circumference AND top-to-bottom. Then, each bottle got slid into a sock, rolled up in a shirt, or otherwise padded. And finally, the bottles got packed in the bag, with more clothing around and between so that nothing could shift or otherwise move. Everything survived without a problem.

MelissaH

[Hassouni]

Usually wrapped in a plastic bag and tied off, then wrapped in clothes, then wrapped in another plastic bag. I hate the liquids rule.

[Brainfoodie]

I have a few bottle AirPacks which do the job really well, much better than bubble wrap. You can even post them.

http://www.airpacksystems.com/glass-bottle-packaging-single.asp