Wine skin vs DIY Clothing Wrap

Eve, there is right now a thread on this RS Italy Forum, entitled "Trains and Souvenirs", which is discussing exactly this topic, along with trains. One thread, two topics.

Read this thread that is going on right now. Several methods discussed including wine skins, which to an old cat like me were leather bags you put wine in to carry while skiing, but apparently are something totally different nowadays.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/trains-and-souvenirs-last-questions

I have seen that thread. It isn't the same topic at all. I am asking for a comparison of two ways to transport wine. Which one is better? I actually discovered wine skins from that thread. I'm not certain if I want to spend the money on wine skins but if they are better at protecting wine bottles than wrapping in clothes, I'll spend the money.

my husband and i have this debate all the time! i like the wine skins and he says, just wrap them in dirty clothes and hope for the best. :-)

we have never had a failure using either method and have been bringing wine in our suitcases at least 4x per year for the past 10 years.

i do feel better with the wine skins, tho. and even the "single use" ones can be reused many times, just put some heavy duty tape on the opening.

but, anytime you put wine into your suitcase, know there is some risk it's going to break or leak. it'll wash out of most things. hopefully. :-)

OK I'll copy and paste what I said on that other thread:

My wife always brings some bubble wrap with and zip-lock plastic bags that are large enough that a wine bottle will fit in it, then pack dirty clothes around it. Wine bottles are very sturdy and I've never seen them break when we get home. They are heavy, so make sure it does not put you over the 23 kg weight limit on the bag. Olive oil bottles, on the other hand, are thin glass. I once brought one of these home for my wife from a business trip to Italy. But when she opened my suitcase......

Grazie mille, mom2eandb! So, no failure's either way? Hmmm! I may be with you when it comes to better safe than sorry in regards to the skins. I just don't know if I want to spend the money. Are they available at the wine stores in Italy?

Sam, thanks for copying and pasting. Sorry, I did see that reply on the other thread but I guess I must not have read it completely. So you used both methods at the same time? And DIDN'T buy the wineskins but actually created them yourself with ACE Hardware (or similar) bubble wrap and ziplock bags? Interesting! Sorry I snapped if it came across that way. It's been a long day and so maybe I should just go to bed. Lol

I always put bottles (Wine, shampoo, olive oil) in plastic bags, and then wrap them in dirty clothes. I've never had a problem like that!!

Eve, we bought wineskin brand skins for Spain and had no problems. We were still consientious about placement in our bags. This trip we've bought "reusable" bags, see here: Vinolock.

I don't want the hassle of cleaning my luggage and everything inside so I don't mind spending a little bit to worry less. Maybe I'm just gullible for good advertising 😆

Eve, yes I have used both methods, and at least once, they were in the same bag. The thing is, I used a couple of layers of socks on the bottle and then placed it carefully among stiff and soft layers. I also bring back jams, oil, vinegar, honey, mustard, etc. - things like that as well, and put them in socks as the first layer. Bottles are pretty tough, and the object is to protect them from hitting sharp edges ) like the edge of a table) rather than against the bag being dropped. So hard layers like cardboard around them help.

The advantage of plastic cushioned bags like Wineskins (most liquor stores seem to have similar) is that they are supposed to contain the liquids if the bottle does break, so all your clothes dont get soaked and stained. I've used them on over half a dozen trips so far with no failure. No failure yet with dirty clothes either. I dont take sparkling wines however.

Yes, you can get all the wine you want here, but something you bring back yourself has a story.

I nearly always bring back a few bottles of wine or beer and have always used the "dirty clothes" method with no casualties yet* I guess I view the wineskins as one more thing to pack when I already have a bag full of solutions.

Some tips....
- Wrap the bottle, making sure to cover the ends as well.
- Place the wrapped bottles in the center of the luggage, having clothes as bumpers underneath, around the sides, and on top. The biggest danger is something hitting (or handlers dropping) the bag.
- If you want you can use left over plastic shopping bags to provide some additional protection, but then really, you would need to seal it.

My first comment came with an asterisk, in a separate situation we did have a bottle break, but it was a cheap thin glass bottle, wine bottles with the punt on the bottom are very strong and not a problem. I also did once have a can of beer burst, but as I recall, that was a last minute "stuff it into my checked bag" without wrapping or protecting it from impact.

We've used a brand called Wine Mummy which is basically a bubblewrap pouch with double ziplocks on the top. We've reused them so many times, they're beginning to show wear and tear but I slap some packing tape on them and keep on using them. I've also transported a lot of breakables nestled in with my clothes, too, and I've never had any casualties. I think either works if you pack them well. I don't take Wine Mummy bags to Europe though. They take up too much room in my space-limited carryon. If I find something over there I cannot live without, I'll figure something out or have it shipped. That hasn't happened yet.

Sam, yup, i also thot we were talking about a leather canteen that OTHER people would use to sneak alcohol into college football games in the 1980s........
Eve, you might also check out a reusable neoprine sleeve (i was given a couple as a hostess gift) that hold one or 2 bottles of wine for picnics, etc.....you could take a couple of those, then use a freezer ziplock bag and dirty clothes.....would take up almost no room going over, and is infinitely reusable

For several trips now I have carried over a large round mailing tube made of sturdy cardboard, like the kind used to mail posters. I have brought back all kinds of liquids in glass bottles including wine, olive oil, spices, olives, jams and honey without any problems by placing them in zip lock bags and then into the tube. Use dirty clothes to pad between the bottles in the tube. Works like a charm!

Thanks everyone for responding. Only a week to go! I'm getting a bit nervous and so every little question I have is coming to the forefront...this forum has been great in preparing me for my trip.

I have always used a combination of socks and dirty clothes, bubble wrap and large zip lock bags and it works for me. Isn't a wine skin just an expensive leak proof bag lined with bubble wrap? IDK, maybe I'm missing something because I have never used them. However, I gave up bringing home wine and now give that precious space to olive oil. With the internet, you can buy almost any wine on line.

Jeanine, I would agree on prioritizing olive oil in my luggage. I have a good selection of Italian wines available to me but olive oil is hard to find locally (probably could find it on the internet). But it's something I can enjoy for a very long time (lasts a lot longer than a bottle of wine, lol). I found some in metal tins in Spain and that was great because I didn't have to worry about them breaking.

Eve, we're right behind you; we leave in two weeks!

....The advantage of plastic cushioned bags like Wineskins (most liquor stores seem to have similar) is that they are supposed to contain the liquids if the bottle does break, so all your clothes dont get soaked and stained.......

THAT is a HUGE consideration. We have for years use the dirty clothes methods to carry wines back. But it only takes one failure to give a you a nice set of pink underwear and t-shirts. Our typical pattern WAS to lay a thick layer of dirty underwear on the bottom of the suitcase, wrap the bottles in a sheet of bubble wrap, cover the bottles with more dirty clothes and the packing cubes on tops. Thinking everything was well protected in the middle of the suitcase.

When we picked up our luggage for customs in the US we knew we had problem - it smelled of wine with the whole back side of the carry-on bag was damp and it had not been raining. From our analysis of the bag and the damage, it appears that our bag was laying flat on the back side on a hard surface and must have been hit very hard with the edge of an another bag that somehow fell on the center of our bag. All of the underwear beneath the broken bottle was uniformly soaked with wine. The good dirty clothes above were fine. There were three bottles packed side by side. It looked like the middle bottle had been hit on the curve at the top of the bottle where there was many small pieces of glass and rest of the bottle was broken into long pieces. Still wearing some pink underwear.

We now use the tough plastic wine sleeves with a double locking top. If it breaks hopefully the tough plastic with resist cutting and the double seal will prevent leakage. On the last three trips the system has not been tested and probably never will since we assume the earlier breakage was a freak accident. But why take chances?

I use the bubble wrap, into a plastic grocery bag sealed with duck tape. (Wrap 6-8 ft duct tape around a pencil) has an amazing number of uses.

Wrapped in clothing, cushioned in center of suitcase. Have never had breakage.

While I have, on occadion , used the dirty clothes method to cushion wine bottles in checked luggage, I have found it easier to buy wine abroad in half cases or full case and to have then shipped from the winery. I understand that some states In the US do not allow shipped wine, but it is No problem in Oregon, where I live. And it was always a pleasant memory to get a box of wine after I had returned home.

We managed to get our souvenir wine back alright by wrapping bottles in our dirty clothes and then bagging with multiple plastic bags in the event of breakage. We didn’t put bottles next to one another and tried to keep them near the top portion of our bags (larger suitcases with wheels) so when stood up the wine wouldn’t be bearing the weight of everything in our luggage. I’ll have to look into these wine skins as I’ve never used them.

Every year I pack 11 ( 12 will not fit in my bag) bottle of French wine into my empty 22" roller and simple wrap in newspaper, this is very tight, no rattling at all and I check it. Nothing has ever broken...wine bottles are made to withstand a lot! If you are just bringing a bottle or two wrap in paper and put into individual thick plastic bags and place among clothing, check it.

Well never say never. My friend related a story of heading to a fishing lodge. He packed some red wine in his bag surrounded with clothing. As well as he might have packed it one bottle did break. He was able to was his clothes but they had oddly shaped pink stains.

I use what I call wine diapers, bottle shaped ziplock style bags with absorbent material inside. Supposedly enough material to sop up the contents of a wine bottle.

I haven't read the whole thread...
that said, buy a case, you will find stuff in Tuscany that you can't get back home. Splurge, buy a case of 12 and have it shipped back home (someplace that can sign for it) and it will set you back about 10 Euros/bottle. Wine stores will be happy to sell and ship the wine for you. Some wineries will also do this (but not all) so you can get it home.
If you put it in the suit case, assume only one will fit in the middle protected by your clothes.
Have done all three.
Enjoy