Flying with wine?

I have a friend coming back from Germany with some wine he will be bringing back via checked baggage. Other than the obvious steps to avoid breakage and spills, is there anything he could do to mitigate the extreme cold from the time in the plane's hold? Is it not something to worry about?

Cargo holds on modern long haul aircraft are pressurized and climate controlled, so the bags should not be exposed to any extreme temperatures. The biggest danger to the wine will be if a baggage handler tosses the bag... . I travel often with wine in my suitcase, and as long as it is well padded and packed should not be any problem.

Given all the temperature issues with normal shipping channels and officially imported wine, transporting wine back this way seems like much less of a worry.

Not wine related, but I bought some bags of coffee while in Hawaii a few months ago. They were loosely packed whole bean in sealed bags that have small vent valves. When I got home, the bags were all vacuum packed - all the air sucked out of them.

Wrap each bottle in two pages of newspaper and put them back into a 12-bottle carton. No problems with rough handling.

Wrap each bottle in two pages of newspaper and put them back into a 12-bottle carton. No problems with rough handling.

When I just recently returned from NZ with 15 bottles of wine, Neil, I made liberal use of Wineskins to protect the wines which I then thrust into a duffle bag amid various items of dirty clothing. No problems in any way getting them back home.

Mark Lipton

When I just recently returned from NZ with 15 bottles of wine...into a duffle bag amid various items of dirty clothing

Spread out over how many bags/suitcases?

For just one duffle bag it sounds like the wine would be a mighty big proportion of the contents! (And I have done something along those lines when traveling by train, but for airplanes I usually seek more buffer)

When I just recently returned from NZ with 15 bottles of wine...into a duffle bag amid various items of dirty clothing

Spread out over how many bags/suitcases?

For just one duffle bag it sounds like the wine would be a mighty big proportion of the contents! (And I have done something along those lines when traveling by train, but for airplanes I usually seek more buffer)

Nope, all in one duffle with a fair modicum of clothing, too. The Wineskins were the primary protection, though, so the clothing was merely there to keep the bottles separated.

Mark Lipton

Mark-

Curious what you brought back.

is there anything he could do to mitigate the extreme cold from the time in the plane's hold? Is it not something to worry about?

There is no extreme cold, its temperature controlled so nothing to worry about.

Nope, all in one duffle with a fair modicum of clothing, too.

Wow. Big bag!

Nope, all in one duffle with a fair modicum of clothing, too.

Wow. Big bag!

Flyover country is a different world than NYC, lots of space for storing things.

Mark-

Curious what you brought back.

Matt,
It was a mix of Hunter Valley Semillon (McGuigan's, Mt. Pleasant and Tyrrell's), Central Otago, Canterbury and Martinborough Pinot Noirs (Felton Road, Amisfield, Pegasus Bay, Mud House, Rippon, Martinborough Vyds), Canterbury Riesling (Waipara River), Marlborough SB (Wairau River Reserve) and Hawke's Bay Syrah (Esk Valley). Had we more room, I would have brought back more from Hawke's Bay (Esk Valley Bordelaise blends, Te Mata Estate wines) and Marlborough (Lawson's Dry Hills Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris). Instead, we had to drink them in situ!

Mark Lipton