Champagne in checked baggage

[Sober Lark]

Don't tell the Troika, but I want to bring a few bottles of Champagne back to Ireland in checked baggage. I'm thinking of taking two suitcases, plenty of bubble wrap and maxing my luggage allowance of 20kgs each. A friend said just send the bottles through in the box they come in but I'm thinking that's only 6 bottles and not as well padded as a suitcase. Is this idea a runner? Any tips?

[munster]

when i pack bottles in my hold luggage, they're always wrapped individually in clothing etc and i try to keep the bottles away from the sides of the case, remember not to have anything valuable that would be ruined if there was a breakage in there. i've never had a problem!

[wiggy]

It should be probably OK if packed as described by munster, I've carried bottles of wine like that over the years and never had a breakage.


You've mentioned your 20 kg allowance so I'd just add that (if you weren't aware of it) a "standard" bottle of champagne is significantly heavier than a standard 75 cl. bottle of wine ( 1.5 kg or more for a bottle of champagne - now why would I know that ;))

[Gibon2]

"Sober" Lark, eh? Not for too much longer by the sounds of it.

How many bottles are you planning to pack per suitcase? With adequate packing, I'm not sure I could get many more than 6 in anyway. I expect it will work fine as long as each bottle is kept separate from the next, and well away from the sides of the case.

But I have to wonder, is it worth the effort and risk? Could you not just ask the producer to ship you a couple of cases? This is all within the EU, right?

[Rush2112]

Should be OK but as the others have suggested you will be lucky to get more than six bottles - that's close to 9 or 10 kg without the weight of the case itself and all your dirty kit.

When we go to France we always manage 6 bottles of still wine wrapped in bubble wrap that we take from home - in business class so we get 30 kg and the bag is always over 20 kg so you may be struggling.

[RevMan2]

I do it like this:
Get a cardboard box that's a bit longer and a bit wider than 2 or 3 bottles.
Wrap the bottles in bubblewrap and jam them into the box so that they can't move. Pack with rolled up newspaper if you need to. Cut down the sides, fold the sides over the top and put them in your suitcase, well cushioned on all sides. Empty plastic water bottles are good if you need them.
I use those corrugated fruit trays that you find in supermarkets. They'll take 3 bottles of wine or 5 of beer and I regularly bring back 15 bottles of craft/microbrewery beer from the UK and the US.
Haven't lost one yet.

[Sober Lark]

Hi Gibbon2, they say 60% of road accidents are caused by 'sober' drivers. My little consignment won't bring me anywhere near the max recommended 21 units for the Lark.

Wiggy, if a bottle weighs 1.5 kg then an empty case should yield 11 bottles. Now DHL would charge me €64 to post two cases containing a total of 12 bottles so for that money I could take three suitcases! These baggage charges we sometimes moan about can seem quite cheap. Why would anyone use them to bring back dirty laundry?

A low cost acquaintance told me 'Perignon or Benedictine? No matter, they're both hideous. The former favoured by footballers sluts, the latter for well at heel teens.' BTW if he's still around here I'd like to remind him he still owes me one.

[Agaricus bisporus]

If you aren't confident that your goods will stand a 3 metre drop onto concrete don't take them, or accept the resulting mess if they're dropped. We see it happen far, far too often.

well at heel

Is that a mixed drink or a mixed metaphor? Or just means, as it appears to, well trained or perhaps well presented though I can't see the relevance?

[Sober Lark]

Agaricus bisporus, the only way I know to avoid the three metre drop test is to never use the 'fragile' stickers on your baggage.

[manintheback]

Once checked 6 half cases of bubbly at CDG with BMI. All made it home intact.

[ConstantFlyer]

Is it really worth it? Members of The Wine Society get free delivery if you buy a dozen bottles. They deliver to Ireland too, or you can pick up in N.Ire.

[Cameronian]

In my opinion, backed up by an enviable amount of long-term experience, the bottles used for good champagne are extremely tough. They're not even that easy to break with a .357 magnum (empty, of course! They're even stronger when full) at twenty-five yards unless you get them just right! Some here have talked about their successful experiences transporting ordinary wine bottles in baggage - take the same care with champagne bottles and you'll be much, much safer. Cheers!

[WHBM]

In my experience of taking wine/champagne (including much Russian "champanska" :) ) packed in baggage, it's fine, and no different in shocks to what the bottles experience when being moved around by truck as freight. Have it in the middle with clothes packed all around.

In contrast, the only breakages I have seen (fortunately not to my items) has been to items bought at the duty free, dropped when the flimsy plastic bag handles break or slip, on the marble floor of the arrivals terminal or onto the car park outside.

Champagne bottles are about the toughest of all, to withstand the internal pressures. Many are the stories of ones being swung against a new ship but which do not break. To overcome this a major shipyard will take the launch bottle into the workshops beforehand, put it in the vice, and file the glass down to be very thin in places. I understand the fitters practice on empty bottles beforehand !

[FairlieFlyer]

Slight thread creep but many times I used to take whole cases of wine from Sydney to Singapore on SQ with not a single breakage. Tried it once on Jetstar and nearly every bottle was smashed (red). Just let the squashed and sodden case just carry on its ride around the carousel. On the bright side with champagne its meant to get stains out of clothes, so your clothes might get a laundry pre-wash if one does actually break...

[Sober Lark]

Just as follow up and to report Lyon - Dublin I managed 9 bottles in checked baggage.

I picked up 7 Bollinger NV at a bargain €29 ech. A DOM and a Veuve 04. The total saving on the value compared to what I would have paid here in Dublin was €243. (less the checked bag fee of course) Thanks to all who helped with packing ideas.

[ARNSpoty]

guess now when you managed to get them safe and sound to your cabinet, i expect to get invited for your next new years party:E "Sober"...

[Sober Lark]

Not putting a 'fragile' sticker on the bag seemed to have worked a treat. Sorry only kidding lads...

ARN, I keep a bottle handy in case you drop in.

That reminds me. Leo you owe me a bottle.

[ARNSpoty]

Excellent:E!!

Cheers bud

[Mark in CA]

The biggest risk with wine bottles is longitudinal compression. And so don't pack the bottles crosswise in a soft bag or in any other way where they might get crushed or smacked on the top or bottom of the bottle while the other end is constrained. Almost any other reasonable packing should be OK. And, of course, you don't want them clanging against each other, either.