antipest

These blow up air-cell bags are great for taking with you to wine producing areas where you might buy the odd bottle at tasting rooms. They are easily blown up using a cheap plastic bicycle pump from a pound shop and before they are inflated they take up virtually no room in your luggage. If taking a special bottle to a friend they are just left behind as they are very cheap on ebay. They are bulky when inflated but really do the job better than risking luggage contamination.
On my last trip to the Cape Winelands I bought back 10 bottles that I packed inside a cheap zip up holdall which I checked in, there were no breakages. I have done a test on their strength by putting in a bottle of wine (very cheap) and first dropping it onto my patio from waist height up to a drop from 8 feet all with no damage.

gingerlucy

It's fine to share a suitcase but you can't split individual items. Say there's two of you, with a limit of 1L of spirits each, sharing a suitcase and in it are two 1L bottles of vodka. It would be perfectly fine for you to each point to one and tell the customs officer that is yours. What would not be fine is to bring back one of those big US bottles of spirits with a handle that you get in their liquor stores - a "half gallon" under their measurements
and 1.75L in metric - and try to say it's split between you as you've pooled your 1L each. Not that I imagine many UK customs officers would really care about that.

Thanks to everyone who has posted about the individual wine bags - I had not even thought to look for such a thing so will stock up before my next trip!

Vinotraveller

Yes - these are very good. Mostly I ship containers full of wine (both bottled and bulk) from around the world, but I do often get given bottles on my travels, so keep a stock of these and I also always use hard sided cases too. On occasion I have just wrapped bottles in clothes, but that is very risky!

daftboy

Yes those wine skins are excellent - a few select bottles made it quite safely back from New Zealand in these last year on a ZQN-AKL-DOH-OSL-LHR routing ;-)

Sparkyfletch

I checked in two 12 cases of Chianti at PSA last year, double boxed with extra padding. We were Tannoyed in the lounge and escorted (very respectfully) airside to a dispatch area to identify our luggage. They advised it would be okay on this occasion as they would sit at the bottom of the hold. As a courtesy to other passengers I should always get it wrapped by the cling film thingy before checking in and there would be on issues.

crazyanglaisy

I've been using these for years and they work very well. Never had a breakage. Note that they do have something of a "cobbled together on Blue Peter" feel to them, which belies the price tag. But, still a worthy investment in my view.

frandrake

PSA is a disgrace. The only time a bottle was broken and my daughter's buggy left soaking in rain was there. Ground staff is truly appalling.

dcmike

flatlander

Yeah, they're Yodel-proof.

flyertalker54234

1) I would pack in your suitcase using clothing around them to lessen shock and stop them bumping each other. (Use a hard sided suitcase). You can buy inflated plastic bottle packs for wine and spirit bottles which work as well in checked bags as the post. Amazon sell them as do many UK wine and spirits sites and some good off licences.

2) Airlines will not refund for broken wine bottles as it would be classified as fragile times which they advise you not to pack. If you want it covered for damage then ship it UPS or Fedex and pay the large bill. If you pack them sensibly using bubble wrap or a bottle jacket as above, in a sturdy hard side suitcase, you should not have any issues.

3) Switzerland is in the Customs Union as currently is the UK so you should not have to pay any duty, there is however a CHF 300 limit before you pay VAT. So if it is 5 bottles of wine at inexpensive prices you are fine, if it is pricey vintage wine, you may owe VAT at 8% I believe.

flyertalker54234

I believe the Customs Agent can legally ascribe one owner to a bag. So any second passenger would need to remove the goods they wished to claim an allowance on and carry them through Customs and Border independently.