Expert Tips on How to Pack & Transport Wine

We have all been faced with the issue of transporting wine from one place to another without breaking it. The thought of losing your precious wine due to not taking the time to pack it as safely as possible is an indescribable thought.

Therefore, I asked my good friends over at Budget Self Pack Containers (BSPC) for some tips on how to pack and move wine whether you’re moving house, taking wine in your suitcase overseas or are shipping wine through the post.

BSPC are Australia’s container removals specialists. These guys provide you a shipping container to pack your belongings into and then they ship it to your new address interstate. As they are experts on packing things and moving house, I thought they’d be the best people to chat to for tips on how to move our most precious possession – wine!

Shipping wine

Receiving wine deliveries is not uncommon in the TC household. We’ve seen several ways people pack wine for it to arrive in its original condition. From what I have learnt it’s wise to stick with proper wine bottle packaging – it’s made for shipping wine and the delivery people will be able to tell it’s clearly wine and not to chuck it around.

Australia post have single and twin wine boxes which you can pick up at an AUS Post shop for $3.85 for the single and $5.35 for the double. Postage cost is then calculated as normal – up to 5kg is about $17.60 within Australia. And yes, cats also approved of these boxes!

What I also found quite cool in a wine delivery from SignorVino recently was the blow-up packaging pictured below, it felt super safe – like bubble wrap on steroids. Next time I am travelling I will be using these!

It looks like you can pick up these inflatable wine airbags from One Stop Bar Shop alongside a number of other websites listed on Google including eBay.

Moving wine to your new home

Whether you have hundreds or a few handfuls of bottle to move to your new home, it’s important the bottles are well looked after and make it in one piece.

Improper packaging can result in broken bottles (my heart breaks just writing that!) and loss of flavor resulting in bottle shock (temporary).

Whenever wine goes on a decent trip (i.e. moving house or on and airplane) it’s always recommended to let the wine rest for 7 days prior to opening just in case bottle shock has occurred.

The alternative is to drink as many of them as you can to reduce what you must move (or alternatively be the nicest friend and give them away as gifts).

BSPC’s tips for moving wine to your new house include:

• Don’t pack wine bottles that have been opened (this should be self-explainable)
• Avoid wrapping bottles in newspaper, using small foam micro beads or bio-degradable packing made from cornstarch as if there’s condensation the latter two will break down and do little to protect your bottles and may even cause staining on the labels
• Instead use acid and chemical free tissue paper if you need to wrap any bottles
• Use specialised wine packaging equipment like the inflatable airbags explained in the above section on shipping wine, alongside this, the Styrofoam or corrugated cardboard wine packaging boxes protect bottles well
• Make sure the bottles don’t rattle around in whatever they are packaged in, do the gentle shake test and if you can hear movement, add some extra padding material
• If the bottles will be in transit for some time, make sure bottles with corks in are packed either sideways or upside down to ensure the cork stays moist
• Avoid moving during hot weather, to keep wine in the best condition it’s important to keep then at a constant temperature for wine storage that matches your cellar conditions
• If you are using removalists make sure you clearly label any wine boxes with FRAGILE and THIS WAY UP to avoid any issues
• If you are a serious collector and have invested a lot into your wine collection, we would highly recommend seeking professionals (such as Cellar Move) to help make sure your wines are packed correctly and transported in climate controlled vehicles

Expert tip:

Leftover wine boxes are ideal for packing kitchen items in as kitchen items tend to carry a bit of weight so the smaller size of wine boxes means you won’t easily over pack the boxes when

Travelling with wine

This is one a question I get asked a lot and it’s also something I do a lot, when we went to our wedding in Vanuatu we had our max allowance of bottles in our 2 suitcases – 3 bottles in each and when one of those bottles is an 04 Cristal Champagne, it’s safe to say it’s just a touch nerve-racking opening the suitcase 12 hours later and after 2 flights.

To be honest the same advice as above is best here – if you can fit proper wine packaging like those inflatable wine bags or boxes then these would be ideal. Also, try to make sure whatever you pack the wine in that it’ll stop leaking if the worst does occur. The last thing you need is a loss of wine and wine all over your clothes!

Wine Skins are a great solution to avoid leakage and add extra packaging around the bottle. I picked up the below one from Chandon on my day out in the Yarra Valley a few years ago.

Also, don’t forget all countries do have limits as to how much wine and booze you can bring in, even if it is in your suitcase. To avoid fees and fines, it’s always recommended to stay within your limit per person.

More travelling with wine tips:

• Invest in a hard-shell suitcase
• The more padding the better
• Don’t pack the bottles near the edges of your suitcase, place in the centre so they have as much padding as possible
• Ask the check-in staff to put a fragile tag

So, there you have it folks, some tips and tricks on shipping, moving and transporting wine from one place to another. A big thanks to BSPC for their help on putting this post together. If you have any further queries, please leave a comment below or get in touch with myself or BSPC directly.