Transporting wine - The Wine Check
 

A friend of mine tipped me off to this... a wine carrier that you can bring to the airport and use to ship your wines home. Check this out. http://www.thewinecheck.com/

Darn thing even has wheels. I love this quote 'Whether you're purchasing wine on a vacation or want to take some on a trip, The Wine Check makes traveling with wine safe and easy and it costs less then shipping it!' Ain't it the truth. :D

I love these things.... :D ^

I looked at that recently, love the fact they will deliver to hotels in Napa like same day. My only complaint about it (I have not seen one in real life to know if it's a toy or a real bag yet) is it's color and logo just scream "somebody is shipping a case of wine, steal me before they get to baggage claim". I wish it was more discrete and looked like a box cover.

If an airline staffer knows wine and sees a wine shipper box, they think 'there is wine in there!'. If they see a big red bag with wine in it, they think 'there is a big red bag!'

Guess it is just like a golf case or guitar case

If the airline staffer sees a big red bag with a wine bottle on it and the words Wine Check, I think they will figure it out.

I'm not overly concerned about the staff, but the other people in the baggage claim area.

It's not a big deal, just wish they made it a bit more like a vague cover. As they say in their FAQ section it has the same chance of theft as a cardboard shipper, but I feel they should offer a toned down version of it.

I do believe it's a great product, and hope they are very successful with it.

A 'Platinum Travelers Edition' (at twice the price) will be available in 6-9 months that fits the bill. This beats checking or shipping a box, and is reusable. So far 500 or so flown and no thefts :cool:

If you are in Napa, go to Buffalo's Shipping and p/u 12 pack styrofoam box. $13 and use 1 way. Otherwise should be able to buy from a winery u do biz with.

That's one use, and you know how hard it is to handle a smooth cardboard box, weighing 45lbs, through the airport? Imagine what the baggage handlers do with something that inconvenient to lift and throw.

Waste of Styrofoam to have to buy one every time, too.

OK, I'll bite.

How does your Wine Check get around buying one every time? If I buy it and bring wine home in it in a $13 box from Buffalo (or $8 at Sterling), on my next trip I either have to bring the empty box back with me or buy another one.

If I'm going to bring a Wine Check back out with an empty box in it, I can just as well bring the empty box on my next trip too.

Are you saying you can somehow fold it up in a suitcase with a reusable styrofoam box in it? Of course not. In either case, you either bring an empty box out there with you, or you buy a new one. Using a Winecheck does not in any way change the number of boxes I need, either I bring one or get a new one.

I'm sure we all appreciate you coming here to sell your product, but you need to be reasonable in the discussion.

Mike, I'm not sure how I'm not being reasonable, so please allow me to clarify.

Yes, if you choose to pack it in your suitcase, since it does fold up, you'd need another shipper box and Styrofoam. However, I'm imagining that this crowd, in particular has NO problem traveling with as many checked bags as they want. You can, if you like, check a Wine Check with nothing in it, anticipating filling it up, or, you can fill it with 'stuff' that would normally be in your baggage. One winemaker brings wine home to Minnesota and brings back venison in the slots. Most who travel with it keep the box in it, and either keep it empty, or fill it with clothing, toiletries, or snacks.

The concept is essentially to provide an extra layer of protection to the box (and wine within), allow for reusing of the box/Styrofoam if needed, and make it far easier to transport (wheels and handles, versus a 45 lb smooth sided cardboard box you kick through the airport because you have no hands free). Having an insulated bag over your shipper box also allows one to keep wine safely in the trunk while touring wine country, particularly if it is in a shipper box within The Wine Check, with a Styrofoam insert, and with ice packs in the slots provided within. We all spend a decent amount of money on our wine, yet can be all to careless when transporting it. You don't put your clothes in a box, do you? If you brought an empty box back and forth in a trip, it wouldn't last very long. At best, the cardboard casing would go. Typically, the Styrofoam inside wears down from the constant edge damage. It's about reusing, and convenience - wheels on your luggage, pull straps or telescoping handles, carry handles, etc. Same goes for wine - this is wine luggage. If you feel that a box is just as good, that's fine - many feel it is quite difficult to handle, hence the creation of The Wine Check (not my idea - the idea of a tour guide in Napa/Sonoma)

I had an issue with that earlier in the year. Coming back from MAD, I was maxing out DL's allotment of baggage in BizElite baggage allotment (3 bags @ 70 lbs) mostly vino, and lost three when my box of 15 fell off a bag after going thru Customs in JFK, but before rechecking my bag :(

Hard to balance 2 rollers and a large box...

Plus, all you frequent travelers know that when you check a cardboard box, you have to sign a waiver.

The airline industry gets away with all KINDS of things the rest of us wish we could in business. 'Yeah, sign this away cuz we don't cover it. Oh, wheels on luggage? Yeah, we won't cover that either.'

Good tip. I will look into this on my next trip to France. Some of the salesmanship on display here is turning me off, though. :(

Sorry, dchristiva - it's just probably defensiveness that sources from pride. It's tough to put a new product to market at any time, but even more so when it is actually a new concept, too - there's a lot of education involved, and apparently plenty for me as well!

Full disclosure, we have actually experienced some problems, and note there is no limit to the amount of damage baggage handlers can inflict. While there are 500 or so out there already, flying around, 2 have had wheels just smashed. Somehow, the handlers must toss the entire bag and have it land squarely on the back corner where the wheels are. They are beefy wheels, but not beefy enough for those skilled workers! We're changing the design just to be safe, so one like most of your carry-ons - recessed, one piece all the way across the back.

I'd much rather have some feedback on here rather than turn people away, so my sincerest apologies! You folks have the most experience traveling, so I imagine you'd be the hardest on them, and we could learn the most from you.

Agreed
 

Agreed. The spirit of FT is that it's not a "commercial" sales board. It is not a place to market ones products or to sell things.

My suggestion is to be more of a "listener" than a "talker." I think you will win more points with that. Get feedback from your product, then relay that to your product development team. Trying to defend your product here on a talkboard with long paragraphs of text probably has the oppposite effect of what you're trying to achieve.

Would be useful to get one of these for duty-free shopping as well. Load it up and take it with you on the plane. :)

You can take liquids on the plane from duty-free? That's an interesting twist!

BTW, for those scared of the words 'The Wine Check' on the top, we do have a few blank bags - shhhh

Well... uhrm... pretty much the only place you can load up on "liquids" that you then bring onboard as hand luggage are the airport shops. :)

For someone selling wine shipping containers for flyer you sure know a lot about dutyfree!!!!:rolleyes:

I just ask for double/triple bottle boxes, put the wine in double or triple plastic bag and fill airspace inside the box with spray insulation foam which is about $5 at HomeDepot or Lowes. These fit into suitcases nicely

I've just never bought wine at duty-free - I can't imagine they have the best storage of the wine in the back room, and pricing is likely not desirable, but taking bottles on the plane is a good idea.

I've done the spray foam in boxes before as well, but it's more difficult to do with 12 bottles, which is what The Wine Check holds. it's the BEST way to ship, though - all wrapped and protected by that foam insulation. Anything really high end that is shipped should go this way

Some friendly advice - It's great that you've got so much pride in your product, but I suggest you adhere the mod's warning to lay off the marketing here. It's not a place to push or sell a product in the way you're doing it.

I'm confused...I thought I was reaffirming how smart it is to use that spray foam mentioned in the post before mine, particularly when shipping...in fact, I wish others would do it, particularly when I'm receiving wine I buy from them as I do when I sell to others (if the wine is pricey). It's $5 well invested.

Fair enough. The way I read your post, it appeared that you were saying The Wine Check was the best way to ship. I must have misread.

Well said. :)

I think the word is sufficiently out about this product at this point.

cblaisd
Dining Buzz Moderator