Travel Wine Carrier

[dstgolf]

We've visited this topic before and Stefan wheels his carrier with himself wherever he travels. This one doubles as a carrier and suitcase that may be great for those BWE conventions. It looks great and seems to be able to modified depending on # of bottles vs clothes to carry by varying the inserts.

https://www.greatexpectationstravel.ca/ ... ine-coun//

We're currently in Iceland and packed 4 bottles and carried two others in from duty free and this would have come in handy.

[Racer Chris]

It looks expensive and wasteful.

[dstgolf]

RC,

We usually bubble wrap our bottles and bury them in the middle of the suitcase. No guarantees though. One year we were returning from California and brought a few bottles back. Only problem was one still got broken and ruined a bunch of shirts and pants. Not fun... so as expensive as the case may be if it saves a few hundred dollars worth of clothes it may be good value in the end.

[Racer Chris]

It looks like the more bottles you include, the more space is wasted using the VinGuard Valise. It also looks like if you want more than one option the inserts add up quickly.
I haven't travelled with my Winecheck yet but other people swear by it. I would think that using a 6pack foam shipper instead of a full 12 pack, the Winecheck could carry a good amount of clothing, and no risk of ruined clothes.

[stefan]

Why have space for clothes? Maybe for things you buy on your trip? I cannot imagine packing anything but wine in a wine carrier when leaving home.

[DavidG]

I agree with Stefan. I have one of these for up to 6 bottles:
https://winecruzer.com/5pack-decanter-w ... wheel.html

I bought it before this much less expensive alternative became available, which I now have for up to 12 bottles:
http://www.thewinecheck.com

[dstgolf]

The traditional wine carrier is just that. Lots of time I'll travel like to a BWE or other wine event with 4 - 6 bottles packed. With luggage charges on planes and 40-50lb weight limit it makes sense to combine space for both clothes and wine. On the way back we usually have drank our wine and bought clothes/stuff and wonder where to store it. For us who travel more than most this looks like it may make sense for us especially in Iceland where a $10 bottle of Casa Viejo last night was $65. Nothing too remarkable on wine lists her but the food is delicious but very expensive ala Switzerland league and the scenery is to die for. This should be on everyones bucket list!!

[DavidG]

Makes sense from that perspective Danny. But we manage to fly most everywhere with 2 checked bags free.

[dstgolf]

David

From Canada you fly nowhere without paying $25 for you first and $50 for the second checked bag unless you fly charter. The new discount...now that's an oxymoron charge for everything including carry-ons. Coming to Iceland we went with there Biz upgrade which is a bit of a stretch but wide semi business class seats with carryon and one bag included. In coach carryon $25 and checked bag $50 each way. It adds up quick. We had 5 bottles of wine and 1 Grand Marnier in tow so that wine carrier would have served us well.

[JCNorthway]

I revisited this thread because I'm starting to look at wine carrier options for air travel. Has anyone found products they think are very good quality in protecting bottles as well as ease of travel? I see a couple of brands mentioned in this thread - Winecruzer and The Wine Check. Has anyone tried the VinGardeValise product line. Their 8 bottle model seems a nice compromise of storage capacity and ease of travel.

[OrlandoRobert]

https://thewinecheck.com/about

I like Wine Check, but in the spirit of disclosure, the owner is a good friend

[Blanquito]

I was given a VinGuard Valise as a holiday gift (right before they were put on sale for 50% off at the start of the pandemic, as it turned out) and so far it has done the job well and in style.

[stefan]

I like VinGuardeValise, especially the one that is designed for five bottles on one side and clothes on the other. You can remove the slots for bottles and use it as a small suitcase. I bought six of these--one to use myself and five for gifts--when they were on sale during the pandemic. I would have bought the 12 bottle version, but I already had a hard case 12 bottle unit.

[jal]

I have a 12 bottle Vingarde Valise. It is well built and has come with me all over the country.

[DavidG]

I have the Wine Check, VinGarde Valise, and WineCruzer.

Wine Check is by far the least expensive, lightest, and least durable. It is extremely effective at protecting bottles, but as it is based on the standard 12-bottle styro shipper, it breaks down after a couple of trips. The styro shipper is relatively inexpensive to replace but not environmentally friendly. This is by far the least ergonomically designed of the three. The wheels are small, the pull strap is meh, and it can tip over easily while being pulled compared to the others. But it does hold 12 bottles for very little $$$. The owner Todd French is a great guy, started the Wine Berserkers board, and came up with a low tech, low-cost solution to one of the wine geek's most common problems.

The WineCruzer is the most costly and most durable in my opinion. Only good for wine. If you want to check a mix of wine and clothes, VinGarde Valise is your jam. The WineCruzer is my most frequently used case unless I need to take more than 6 bottles (my unit's capacity, they do come larger), which isn’t very often.

VinGarde Valise is in between the other two in terms of cost and ease of use in my opinion, but YMMV. It was a great bargain on sale during the plague - less than half the cost of a WineCruzer but still a lot more than a Wine Check. I’m not sure if those prices are still available. One of its big selling points is the ability to load one side with wine and the other with clothes. The others can’t do that. I like to take my clothes in a carry-on, especially if I’m not flying direct, so for me that advantage is moot.

[Dionysus]

I recently picked up the 6 bottle version of Vino-Voyage 2.0 when last in the States - it's available on the Wine Enthusiast website. Very happy with it thus far, albeit I've only used it the once. Its sturdy and can accommodate bottles of various sizes, and comes in a 6 and 12 bottle version - the foam inserts can be removed so can double as a weekend case if needed, reducing capacity to 3 or 6 bottles respectively. Probably not as durable as WineCruzer but less industrial looking I think.