Packing Champagne
 

I am going to France and want to bring some champagne back, does anyone have some foolproof ideas of how to pack it in my checked bag? Wondering if it's any different than packing wine due to the pressure in the bottle.

Thanks for your ideas Fodorites!
Kelly

No different, really, than packing other wine. I always take bubblewrap for packing.

The additional pressure about 6 bar is compensated for the bottle thickness. I use a sleeve of bubble wrap

You need to address two risks just like a bottle of wine.

1. impact: as noted by the previous posters
2. leak: A way to contain a spill.

Make sure you price out several champagnes locally. You may be surprised that the same wine can be cheaper here than in France, and you won't have to carry anything home. Not quite a souvenir though. Consider picking up branded champagne flutes instead.

You can buy a protective sleeve for packing.

ummm can you carry a bottle in a checked bag internationally? You sure can't in the US, so hope you don't have a connecting flight.

Cancel that--i read "checked" for "carryon"!!! I agree that except for the souvenir quality, it may be cheaper in the US.

Will temperature and pressure changes in storage affect the wine/champaign adversely?

No, the wine will be fine in your checked luggage.

They have bottle sleeves and such on Amazon: they are basically bubble wrap that you peel and seal, so that if the bottle breaks the contents won't leak all over your stuff. They take up a lot of room, though.

Or you could bring bubble wrap, or try to get some...

All that said, I usually wrap bottles in my dirty clothes and have never had the slightest problem with any kind of wine or beer.

Lastly, you could have a wine shop, or the winery, whatever, ship bottles to you in the US, especially if you buy 6 or more.

I worked at an airport for years. The smell of liquor on baggage carts was nothing compare to red wine leaking all through your clothing and suitcase to those loaded under it. I remember one lady freaking out over her ruined clothing from broken bottles. Golfers were the worse for sticking bottles in their golf bags. I wrap in my husbands socks, gallon zip bags and have been ok but they take up a lot of room. I buy in duty free and take on board if there is something I really want now. In Napa I bought a case of wine and they had special airplane boxes for check in.

Kelly, are you doing any champagne tours? We are in Feb and wonder if they have packing materials when they sell the wine. You might find something really special you want to bring back. We also have thermal bags we bought years ago that I take to trader joes to keep my bottles from breaking. They are thick, one holds two bottles. A gallon zip just in case and you should be ok.

You should ask the vendor for a cardboard box that fits as many bottles as you have. They will be safe in your checked luggage.
There will be no pressure, because the coldness of the cargo hold will negate the pressure.

Will temperature and pressure changes in storage affect the wine/champagne adversely? you think? of course.

Just think how this expensive stuff is shipped...

The pressure in an aircraft cargo bin is no different that the pressure in the cabin. If it were, there would be a lot of shaving cream cans exploding in flight. Temperature, on the other hand can potentially be a concern as wines do not particularly like temperature movements.

Using any bag container to preclude possible bottle leakage is probably pointless as glass shards from a broken bottle will also rip any plastic bag used to contain liquid spills.

The only way anyone should consider packing wine or champagne bottle for transporting would be in a container specifically designed for that purpose. An example would be:

http://gorillashipper.com/

To be fair the worst that could happen on a flight is rather than one atmosphere pressure drops to 0 atmospheres (and aricraft don't fly that high) so basically the bottle sees 6 atmospheres move to 7 atmospheres which is within the design parameters.

Yep I'd worry about the cold more, still part or all of the hold may be heated and mass shipments of Krug priced wine by air take this into account.

Then again Champagne will already be contaminated by tiny amounts of wine that has been frozen

Shaving cans don't explode for the same reason as above the pressure could only drop a proportional bit which relative to the can design is nothing. See also cans of coke etc.

But, it does suggest that cardboard boxes of liquids in the hold is a dumb idea, while the need to drop the pressure in bike tyres from 15 atmos+ to 0 is a complete waste of time.

"If it were, there would be a lot of shaving cream cans exploding in flight."

I, for one, would like to see this happen.

<i>the need to drop the pressure in bike tyres from 15 atmos+ to 0 is a complete waste of time.</i>

That´s fascinating bilboburgler. Why do you suppose that the airplane´s own tires don´t explode at altitude?

Sarastro, for the same reason, going to space (and most aircraft don't go to space) would only add 1 atmosphere to the pressure of the tyre so a very small percentage up from when they are filled up.

Hence you could just load a bike's tyres into the hold and they would be fine, but airlines make you lower the pressure which is the dumb bit.

<The only way anyone should consider packing wine or champagne bottle for transporting would be in a container specifically designed for that purpose.>

I strongly disagree. We check wine in cardboard wine shippers and swaddled in our suitcases all the time, beer, too, and we know a lot of people who do the same. Not once have any of us had a bottle break.

Some wineries ship in that gorilla shipper Sarastro links to; the rest use different designs of basically the same method, a cardboard box. If you're hauling a couple of bottles, this is major overkill.

<glass shards from a broken bottle will also rip any plastic bag used to contain liquid spills.>
Sorry, but this is nonsense. These aren't bombs and they will not explode from the pressure. If they break--a huge if--it will be because they were crushed or banged, and those wine sleeves are plenty thick enough to keep the broken glass contained.

Which is why I don't use them, lol--they're too bulky.

Lastly, cold isn't an issue for shipping wine, but heat is.