Traveling with wine today means checking wine. No longer can you cradle that precious tasting room find in your arms for the flight home, or hand-carry a liquid gift to a wedding or anniversary. What to do? You can wrap the bottle in all your delicate unmentionables and shove it in the middle of your soft-sided suitcase. You can also buy an expensive purpose-made piece of luggage that holds half a case or more and pay the fee for an extra piece of carry on luggage. We have a third suggestion. Go to the local wine store and ask for a wine packing sleeve. These are usually made of styrofoam, but are also seen in cardboard, recycled paper (our favorite), and even air-filled sleeves, and are sized for one, two, three, six or twelve bottles. You can usually get just the size you need. Just insert the bottle, put the whole thing in with the dainties, and you don’t have to spend the whole flight wondering “what shoes go with Cabernet tie-died evening wear.”
