Need a wine gift for host/hostess

Since my divorce a few years ago I've been drinking from my cellar and have rarely bought any wines at retail. I'm going to be visiting friends in Florida next week. I'd love to bring along one or two of the bottles from my cellar, but I can't carry a bottle of wine in carry-on any more and I don't want to risk the wine disappearing if I packed it in a foam shipper and put it in checked luggage.

1. I'd love to have suggestions for a decent ready-to-drink red (perhaps Cal Cab) that is readily available that I can purchase while I'm driving from the Orlando airport to where I'll be staying in Brooksville, about two hours to the west. Price range perhaps $40-60.

2. Does anyone here know the area and have a suggestion for a place to shop where I would be close to a major highway along the way? Google Maps has me going past Windermere, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Clermont, etc. I know nothing of any of these places.

Thanks!

...and I don't want to risk the wine disappearing if I packed it in a foam shipper and put it in checked luggage...

Bob, I took a case of wine in checked in luggage last Spring (ask James Roscoe). I put the wines in inflated sleeves (sold at $5 each by Southwest Airlines), which I then stuffed into a large plastic picnic cooler that was secured by a heavy strap.

[Robin Garr]

Bob, I agree with Howie. I travel a LOT with wine, and frankly, with TSA on guard, as silly as I think they are, I think your baggage has never been safer. Pack it securely. It will be there in Orlando.

Florida wine shopping is not the best, and you're heading through a wine wasteland. You could probably find some nice wine shops in Northeastern Orlando (Winter Park) or over in Tampa and St. Pete (B-21 in Tarpon Springs is very good).

But pick a couple of nice bottles, pack them in your checked bag and don't look back. Don't pack something so cultish that you'll cry bitter tears if it breaks or gets lost, but it really should not be a problem.

Here's another alternative. Use FedEx and ship your packaged bottle via next-day or 2nd-day air to its destination. Note that the destination can be a FedEx facility at or near your destination airport, where they will hold it for you until you pick it up.

No TSA hassles, no risk of loss in shipment (you can insure it against loss, and FedEx will not charge you if they don't deliver on-time for any reason).

DON'T use UPS. They are notorious for welshing on their insurance if shipment damage occurs.

I've shipped telescopes and related equipment this way and not had any problems. There was one case where a package I shipped 2nd day air ended up being delivered 3rd day air by mistake, and FedEx refunded the shipping charges on that package, since they didn't deliver to the scheduled contract time.

IMO, FedEx (or DSL, which in my experience is equally reliable) are the only way to go with this sort of thing.

Mind you, I've also shipped half-cases and whole cases of wine as checked-in airline baggage, and had no trouble with that, either. TSA did open the baggage to inspect it, but it arrived intact and undamaged.

But if you want worry-free shipment, go FedEx.

-Paul W.

I almost NEVER travel without a bottle of wine in my checked luggage, and I've never had a problem with broken or stolen bottles. My record is 31 bottles in 4 suitcases! It'll be fine.

Thanks, folks! I'll bring some bottles along with me.

(It is so strange to realize how out of touch I am with the current wine market that I had to ask about suggestions for purchase that are ready for drinking. I've gotten quite spoiled by drinking things that I purchased years ago.)

Florida wine shopping is not the best, and you're heading through a wine wasteland. You could probably find some nice wine shops in Northeastern Orlando (Winter Park) or over in Tampa and St. Pete (B-21 in Tarpon Springs is very good).

It's in the wrong direction, but I still need to defend Florida a bit (I grew up there). I was STUNNED at the wine selection and prices at the ABC Liquors on Merritt Island when I was there at the end of the year. It is not an enormous selection, but it is surprisingly good. I ran in to buy my Dad a bottle for his 75th birthday, hoping to just settle for the best I could find, and ended up coming back so I could take my time.

[Jenise]

I agree with the others, check the wine. Just be sure to remove your nipple rings at home before you fly (and if you haven't watched this morning's news, I'm in trouble).

[Robin Garr]

I still need to defend Florida a bit (I grew up there). I was STUNNED at the wine selection and prices at the ABC Liquors on Merritt Island when I was there at the end of the year. It is not an enormous selection, but it is surprisingly good. I ran in to buy my Dad a bottle for his 75th birthday, hoping to just settle for the best I could find, and ended up coming back so I could take my time.

Thanks for the info, D! I'm not a Floridian but my Mom and my sister and her family all live there now, on the "Space Coast," so I'm pretty familiar with Merritt Island and Cocoa Beach. I'll check out that ABC next time I'm there. (I think "ABC" is a commercial chain, by the way, not state alco beverage control).

Not to pick on Florida, but by and large I've found the wine shops and selection there surprisingly disappointing, even when my Mom lived near part of the Palm Beach area that's considered pretty upscale. I always assumed that it had something to do with state distribution patterns, but I've consistently found Florida wine selection and pricing decidedly a step down from Louisville, of all places.

In any case, unless Bob backs up to Winter Park or heads on over to Tarpon, I don't think he's going to find anything much to the west of Orlando that he can't bring from home.

Why not a nice wine-related book? There's so many out there and all different styles, too, for experts and people like me.

I agree with the others, check the wine. Just be sure to remove your nipple rings at home before you fly (and if you haven't watched this morning's news, I'm in trouble).

Ah, Jenise, you're not in trouble.

Alas, I've revised this message several times to keep it straight. <sigh>

I heard about that incident, but with the number of people who have body piercings in various places, some quite intimate, I'm surprised the issue hasn't come up before. The TSA "security" stuff is a bunch of hogwash anyway. Collectively travelers and our congresscritters are acting like sheep meekly going along with being hassled in ways that are ineffective to prevent future problems.

Why not a nice wine-related book? There's so many out there and all different styles, too, for experts and people like me.

I know these folks like nice wine - I've been with them in restaurants - but I don't think they're serious enough about it to want to read up on the topic. A good suggestion, though, for hosts who might be more into wine. And books are lots easier to travel with!