How To Travel With Wine Without Ruining Your Life & All Your Possessions

From packing hacks, TSA guidelines, legal limits, and post-flight care, here’s everything you need to know.

Written by Sophie Dodd

Artwork by Cerise Zelenetz

Say you’ve picked up a few bottles of wine abroad — a label that’s not imported to the States, perhaps, or a rare allocation that, if you’re lucky enough to find it, usually costs half your rent. Call them souvenirs, which fittingly translates to “memories” in French; keepsakes from your travels, which you’d like to protect on the journey home. If you’re flying, you’ll need to secure the bottles in your checked luggage. “To suitcase,” as a verb, is an art. 

Wine importer Jenny Lefcourt, of Jenny & François Selections, for one, spawned her business from the practice of schlepping wine from Paris to New York in the late ‘90s (the glory days when you could still bring bottles in your carry-on). “I’d fill an entire carry-on with wine without any protection,” she admits — a tactic she certainly wouldn’t recommend. “It was crazy.” Miraculously enough, however, she never had a bottle break.  “Those were the good old days,” she muses. 

For present-day protection of your suitcase bottles, however, there are plenty of risk-lowering protocols worth following if you don’t want to play with fire à la Jenny. Ahead, we’ve answered all of your burning bottle-transport questions — like, how much wine can you fly with (erhm, legally)? Do you need padded wine sleeves? what should you do if a bottle does break? 

At the end of the day, there’s no use crying over spilled Sylvaner and soiled chore jackets — but you certainly couldn’t be blamed. So, in order to protect your bottles and skate through customs without having your bounty of l’Anglore confiscated, read on for our expert SWURL guide to securely and legally packing wine bottles in your luggage.

Can I bring wine in my carry-on? 

Not unless you’re traveling back to 2006. When it comes to carry-on luggage, TSA only permits liquids of up to 3.4 fluid ounces (100 milliliters), all of which need to fit in one quart-sized plastic bag. So unless you’ve managed to track down some nips of Chavost, you’ll want to stick to storing wine in your checked luggage. 

How much wine can you fly with? 

Quite literally, the sky’s the limit. For checked luggage,TSA doesn’t limit the number of alcoholic beverages you can carry, so as long as they clock in at 24% ABV or below — which covers even fortified wines — you’re good to bring as many bottles as you can fit.

However, if you’re entering the U.S. from an international destination, you’ll also have to contend with U.S. Customs upon your return. According to their guidelines, only one liter of your wine haul is considered duty free; all additional alcohol is subject to a 3% tax. All things considered, the tax is fairly low — particularly if it’s on wines that you can’t get in the states, or on sexy allocations that you scored for a fraction of their normal price (you’ll pay a higher tax to drink ‘em at Frenchette, no doubt).

But before you go cramming a case of Aligoté into your luggage, be sure to consider your airline’s weight restrictions. While they can vary, most international airlines limit checked bags to 50 pounds (23 kilograms). Of course, you can usually pay for overweight baggage, but the fees tend to be steep. 

To that end, it’s also a good idea to check the rules of your departure country, as some may have stricter limits on the number of bottles you can fly with. And while the legal limit to drink may be lower abroad, remember that only those 21 years old and up can bring alcohol into the U.S.

What kind of suitcase is best for traveling with wine? 

Hardside suitcases offer significantly more protection than softshell or canvas options when it comes to minimizing potential impact. Those sturdy aluminum or polyester shells provide an extra layer of shock absorption, so you can avoid stressing over a little rough-and-tumble at baggage claim. 

What’s the best way to pack wine bottles in a suitcase? 

For maximum protection, you’ll want your bottles to be plenty padded and placed in the center of your suitcase. Wrap each bottle individually using whatever you have on hand — thick sweaters or even your dirty laundry will work just fine. 

“These days, I put bottles in the middle of all my clothes, wrapped in whatever is the most puffy,” says Lefcourt. 

Take care to pad the space between bottles well, as you’ll want to keep them from knocking together. Bottle-on-bottle action is the leading cause of suitcase spills.

If you’re frequently ferrying bottles back and forth, you may even want to invest in some hardware designed for precisely this purpose. Inflatable wine sleeves or those lined with bubble wrap take up hardly any suitcase space when not in use, and provide a bit more peace of mind than a puffy sweater. True pros might even splurge on a wine-specific suitcase — our favorite comes with deep foam inserts that can fit up to 12 bottles.

Are there any risks to flying with wine?  

Contrary to popular belief, your wine bottles aren’t likely to explode mid-flight. The cargo hold is pressurized, so your bottles shouldn’t be exposed to any extreme fluctuations, and they’re designed to hold up to the temporary lower temperature. 

When you’ve safely made it to your destination, it’s still best to treat your bottles with care and give them at least a few days to rest before opening them; sparkling wines in particular should be chilled down before opening, unless you’re going for a cinematic Champagne spray (we won’t yuck your yum).

What should you do if a bottle breaks in your luggage?

Despite following the suggestions laid out here, should you find yourself with broken bottles in your luggage and a wine-soaked wardrobe — well, we’ve been there, and we feel for you. Your first order of business should be to remove any excess wine, either by draining it into a plastic bag or absorbing it with a paper towel. Then, carefully remove any visible glass, and dispose of it in a paper bag. If your clothes are stained, rinse them immediately and toss them in the wash as soon as possible.

If there’s severe damage to your clothes or suitcase, you may want to contact the airline or your travel insurance provider to see if they can help replace any damaged items.

Are there any other ways to bring wine home?

If you’re not planning to check a bag but still want to bring wine home with you, it may be possible to ship your bottles.Winemakers and wine shops can typically ship bottles directly to your door; and this may be an even more economical option if you’re purchasing several bottles or a full case (which would otherwise rack up overweight baggage fees). Just keep in mind that there are various restrictions and regulations that can vary by country. In the U.S., you’ll need an adult signature to receive the package.

Should I be worried about bottle shock?

Bottles, like people, often suffer from jet lag after a flight. Whether wines are shipped or make the journey in your suitcase, the trip can sometimes “dumb” down the flavors, muting the aromas and complexities of a bottle after all that momentum after all that momentum. Give your wines a chance to orient themselves after landing — Lefcourt suggests letting them rest for a week or two before opening.