How to Pack Wine in a Suitcase Properly So It Doesn’t Break in Transit

24.10.2024 - 22:57 / cntraveler.com

Packing for a trip is stressful enough—but the matter of how to pack wine in a suitcase is potentially wardrobe-ruining if you don’t take proper care and steps to ensure all that good vino (or spirits, beers, ciders, or whatever precious liquid cargo you have) stays in the bottle where it belongs. Whether you’re planning to bring home a few vintage bottles from the vineyard you toured in France or want to surprise a family member with their favorite scotch the next time you’re visiting home, we spoke to a handful of travel and culinary professionals to get their best tips on how to pack wine or liquor in a suitcase.

These tried-and-true methods require a little more effort than simply wrapping your wine in a sock or a jacket, but they provide peace of mind by ensuring your booze makes it from gate to gate without breaking in your suitcase.

Pack wine or spirits in a hard-sided spinning suitcase rather than a soft-sided bag or duffel—the more durable the better. Look for hard-sided options that are made with heavy-duty material like aluminum or polycarbonate. (Remember to buy a bag that you’ll be able to check onto the plane, since you can't bring liquids over a certain size with you in your carry-on.) A sturdier shell will be better at making sure that your goods within are protected and don’t jostle around while in transit; a hard-shell suitcase will also withstand the inevitable shocks and impact your belongings will endure when they're tossed around by baggage handlers—whether or not you're carrying anything fragile in your luggage.

If you’re a serious shopper or collector, you might be best served by a little investment: Wine-specific suitcases exist if you frequently purchase wine or spirits as a souvenir. These types of suitcases used to be bulky and inconvenient for regular travel but have recently become much more versatile. “One of my favorite ways to travel with wine or to pack wine on the way home from a trip is to use FlyWithWine’s VinGardeValise suitcases,” says Brianne Cohen, a Los Angeles–based wine educator and sommelier. “They come in five, eight, and twelve bottle options and what is so great about these hard-sided suitcases is that they are modular in design, and you can pull out the bottle inserts as needed.”

“For example, if I’m traveling to wine country, I keep the inserts on one side of the suitcase (this side travels empty on my way to wine country) and remove the inserts on the other side, which is where I pack my clothes and toiletries,” explains Cohen. “On the way home, I pop my new wines into the empty side with inserts, and they travel perfectly.”

As in all things, it pays off to be a strategic packer—especially when you are coming back from a trip with one, two, or more