Hello everyone. I will soon be leaving on the Italy Plus tour and need advice as to what is the best way to pack wine in checked luggage so that it won't break on the journey home. Your comments and suggestions as always are appreciated.

Very carefully
Depending on how much you buy perhaps look at sending home by courier/post.
Check out your local post office as they often have special boxes etc. for bottles.
We have just used the "things" that the duty free shops use and make sure the bottle is wrapped in a towel (if you buy the micro fibre towels these are small) and pack in the middle of the suit-case - or if only one bottle we have taken them in our hand luggage.

I recently returned from Vienna with a nice bottle of wine packed in my checked luggage.

I wrapped it in used clothing, as I usually do for wine. Then I placed it vertically in the luggage with the bottle bottom near the bottom of the luggage on more used clothing. It has worked many times in the past and no problems, so far.

Cat's

Pardon my ignorance here...I don`t drink so I know next to nothing about wine, but aren`t imported wines readily available just about anywhere nowadays? Why go to the trouble of risking breakage in your luggage when you could probably buy the same wine at home? I know that there are some special things that are not easy to find, but I`ve seen wine labels from all over the world right in my grocery store, so I`m puzzled about this. Please forgive if it`s a dumb question.

Caitie...

A vague answer: Yes and no.

A meager reason or excuse to pack wine in your luggage follows: Wines in the USA and those imported to the USA have a much higher sulfite content than wines purchased in Europe. That is not good in my opinion.

If one finds a great wine while on holiday or vacation and does not drink it before the end of the tour, what are the options? Give it away, trash it or pack it, etc. Not all wines sold in Europe can be found at home.

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Originally posted by Caitie:
Pardon my ignorance here...I don`t drink so I know next to nothing about wine, but aren`t imported wines readily available just about anywhere nowadays? Why go to the trouble of risking breakage in your luggage when you could probably buy the same wine at home? I know that there are some special things that are not easy to find, but I`ve seen wine labels from all over the world right in my grocery store, so I`m puzzled about this. Please forgive if it`s a dumb question.

LOL Thanks for asking, I don't drink either & was wondering the same thing.

Thanks Cat's for making me a little wiser.

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Wines in the USA and those imported to the USA have a much higher sulfite content than wines purchased in Europe. That is not good in my opinion.

Thanks, Cat`s, for the explanation, but why do the importers put more sulfites in the wine that they export than in the wine that stays at home? Is it for longer preservation time, or what? Enquiring minds want to know!

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Originally posted by eowyn:
Hello everyone. I will soon be leaving on the Italy Plus tour and need advice as to what is the best way to pack wine in checked luggage so that it won't break on the journey home. Your comments and suggestions as always are appreciated.

I think it would depend on the quantity and the type of luggage you have...

If it's just a one or two bottles and your suitcase is fairly rigid then just make sure it is secure and maybe protected by clothes and/or some bubble wrap..not near the top or bottom but wedged in the middle. If its large quantities I'd investigate proper packaging...

The friend I travelled with last year bought back four bottles of Czech champagne without any problems... not even Customs had issues as it was not bought duty free - just from the local supermarket in Chomutov...

We debated back & forth about doing this, but still have not really made up our minds. I think we're leaning more towrds Caties stance...not only that if our family found out we brought some back we have to share

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Originally posted by eowyn:
Hello everyone. I will soon be leaving on the Italy Plus tour and need advice as to what is the best way to pack wine in checked luggage so that it won't break on the journey home. Your comments and suggestions as always are appreciated.

I have bought wine back from different places over the years. What I do is take bubble wrap with me and a zip lock plastic bag, I place the wine in the bubble wrap then in the plastic bag, seal it then wrap it in some clothing ( I don't take a towel), I have never had a bottle break yet.

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Originally posted by Hibiscus:
We debated back & forth about doing this, but still have not really made up our minds. I think we're leaning more towrds Caties stance...not only that if our family found out we brought some back we have to share

Smart thinking Hibiscus, pack a bottle opener and drink it there.

We were in the burgundy region between Beaune and Dijon this June. One optional dinner included a visit and tasting at a wine producer. Philippe said that they put sulphites in the wine to prevent acidification. His wines were good but not for sale, so I don't know which price range his were.
We bought some very nice and not cheap Chablis (white)wine in the town of Chablis and I was surprised how much I was able to drink of that without any ill effect. I don't know if we can buy Cahors wine here which is very dark red and was very reasonably priced. We did not bring any wine back.

I have in the past packed wine bottles rolled up in clothes, in the centre of the bag making sure it is very well padded. If you go to a wine tasting place sometimes they have boxes for 3 bottles but it would take up a lot of place in a suitcase plus also weigh a lot.

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Originally posted by Missie:

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Originally posted by eowyn:
Hello everyone. I will soon be leaving on the Italy Plus tour and need advice as to what is the best way to pack wine in checked luggage so that it won't break on the journey home. Your comments and suggestions as always are appreciated.

I have bought wine back from different places over the years. What I do is take bubble wrap with me and a zip lock plastic bag, I place the wine in the bubble wrap then in the plastic bag, seal it then wrap it in some clothing ( I don't take a towel), I have never had a bottle break yet.

That's exactly what we do Missie. We have been slowly bringing our wine over from NZ, 3 bottles at a time as allowed by Customs, every time we or someone we know travels here. Lucky my mum doesn't mind storing it. We've probably brought in over 50 bottles so far wrapped in bubble wrap and sealed in a ziplock bag and no breakages yet, touch wood! In my experience it is the item that is separately packed and marked 'Fragile' which gets broken .

Sulphites are normally added to cheaper wine (as far as I know) and they sure are bad for a hangover. . Wine is often no cheaper bought from the winery (I have been annoyed to find it cheaper back home in the supermarkets) but it is nice to bring something special back and it's all part of the experience. Wineries will often arrange freight if you are buying more than a couple of bottles. Just be careful of customs limitations.

augusta ~ If you get to South Australia sometime I will be happy to recommend some good wineries to you, some cellar doors don't sell commercially.

Thanks Missie, I appreciate that. Keen to get to the Barossa and the Clare Valley one day. Shiraz is one of my favourites (even called one of my cats by that name).