It’s Like a Diaper for Your Checked Wine

I belong to a few wine clubs and one of the benefits is discounted wine.  One winery Tiff and I both love, Mazzocco, had a discount on wines–and an even larger one if you bought three cases.  So the two of us went in together with Keri to buy three cases of wine.  All of the wine was shipped to me.

Out of the 36 bottles, Tiff bought fifteen bottles.  The case of wine–12 bottles–was easier to transport because it was prepackaged (though I can talk more about that later).  But the three bottles of wine left had to survive two legs in my luggage.

I wanted to make sure it didn’t crack all over my clothes, so I searched around.  I had a “wine skin” that was bubble wrap but was pretty open.  It snapped in one place, but if the bottle cracked, the wine would pour all over the suitcase.

Then I discovered JetBags:

JetBag

JetBag promises to soak up the entire contents of a wine bottle if you break it.  It doesn’t offer as much padding as other wine transporters, but there’s a lot of natural padding in a suitcase if you strategically use your clothing.

So I threw caution to the wind, purchased a set, and packed the bottles of wine on top of my husband’s clothing (what can I say…)

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I threw some of my dresses on top of the wine bottles, and packed the three up.

I got to Texas to see Tiff and cautiously opened our suitcase…

And tada!  They survived!

Tiff got her Mazzocco and my (husband’s) clothing wasn’t stained.  Success!

But I wasn’t happy.

I didn’t know if the product worked because the wine bottles were intact.  So I did what any rational person would do.  I decided to dump a wine bottle into one of the JetBags.

I told you it was rational.

thejetbag

the wine experiment

I have to admit my face from this frame is because the water was REALLY sloshing into the bag, so I was really skeptical.

Oops I spilled my wne

Keri and I made the following video and intended to do it in one shot.  I stopped for a second to grab a bowl.

Why?

The wine bottle’s content was sloshing into the JetBag so much, I was SURE it wouldn’t work.  And I really didn’t want to clean up the mess on the floor.  So instead of brazenly dumping the bag onto the floor, I decided to do it over the bowl to catch whatever ended up falling out.

I was surprised by the results:

 

It worked

For the whole harrowing story, check out this video of the entire experiment:

It works!  I was really surprised.  There were a few people over when we tried this out, and we were all equally shocked that not a single drop spilled out of the bag.

So there you have it.  You can throw a bottle of wine in this, or even–other liquids you don’t want leaking.  I’ve seen the bags for over $4 a piece, but they are currently a little over $2.50 each on Amazon.com.  I’ll be using these to pack in the future because my biggest fear with transferring a bottle of Zinfandel is ending up with Zinfandel colored clothing.

What’s your favorite method of transporting wine?

Disclaimer: If you purchase items using my Amazon link, I get a modest affiliate credit and appreciate your support.  Also, if your wine bottle breaks in the JetBag, DO NOT squeeze it out to drink all the wine that’s left.  The wine will be really crunchy, and glass is sharp.  Be safe!

 

About Jeanne Marie Hoffman

Former bartender, still a geek. One equal part each cookies, liberty, football, music, travel, libations. Stir vigorously. +Jeanne Marie Hoffman Jeanne on Twitter

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6 comments

  1. I appreciate that you were willing to sacrifice your husband’s clothes for our wine. =)

  2. I have been using these for a few years now and never knew if they really worked since our wine always arrived safely. So thank you for running this experiment! No more worries.

  3. Great advice! I am ordering a few now myself! Always cautious to bring wine in my suitcase when you got half of your wardrobe there!

  4. Ha ha, I love your expressions in this video. Great find!

  5. If you get a case or two regularly when traveling the winecheck is worth buying. we have two and love them. http://www.thewinecheck.com/

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