When you travel with an important bottle or two of wine, or buy some on a trip to take home, you want to be positive it ends up at its home safe and sound. For years, the practice of traveling with alcoholic beverages has been regulated by the airlines to separate cases. While checking spirits on airlines is allowed, the relatively delicate structure of some wines means that significant attention should be taken when traveling with valuable or sensitive bottles on your plane trip.
In the past, many airlines permitted passengers to carry one or two bottles of wine on board a flight on their person to ensure the suitable handling of rare bottles. Since the 2001 institution of safety procedures governing liquids, however, this is no longer possible. Many liquids in carriers larger than 3.4 oz. cannot be carried through airport security checkpoints and onto the plane, and a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent may take away the bottles. An omission to the carry-on rule is made for wine and other spirits acquired in duty-free vendors beyond security checkpoints.
While liquors with an alcohol content of greater than 70 percent are banned and those with an alcohol content between 24 and 70 percent are restricted, there is no TSA-regulated quantity limit on beverages with less than 24 percent alcohol, such as wine. Airline-imposed checked baggage limits still apply, but passengers are free to use the total of their quota for wine transport.
For passengers seeking to transport only a bottle or two of wine, transporting the bottles by use of existing luggage usually is the safest opportunity. Packing bottles securely within clothing helps curtail the vibrations that can negatively affect wine and protects the bottles from rough handling by airport employees. When packing bottles in your suitcases, it’s most important to keep them from shifting. One of the best practices is to slide a bottle into a sock and then bundle it securely in a shirt or other garment. For extra protection against potential breakage, seal the wrapped bottle in a water-tight plastic bag before nestling it firmly at the center of the suitcase.
A number of companies create special wine bottle bags to facilitate carrying bottles on the plane. These carriers are water-tight, very well-padded, resistant to temperature variation and simple to carry. Although not completely necessary, travelers who often find themselves packing a bottle or two of wine may find that the $20 to $50 wine tote bags are a worthwhile acquisition.