This is a really uninformed post. There are many excellent wines being made in Michigan these days (mostly whites); that said, the OP's Witches Brew is not really one of them. But a lot of people love it.

For people checking only a bottle or two check out the wine skin...I've had great luck with them. I put the bottle in one of these and stick it in the middle of the bag amongst my clothes to avoid impacts. Its basically a tailored bag made of bubble wrap that seals at one end -- if something does break a bottle there's pretty much no way for it to leak onto your stuff.

http://www.wineskin.net/

Purchased a WineCheck 2 weeks ago in Sonoma - no issues with it, or with the 6-bottle shiping box with styrofoam padding, or with the 6-bottle shipping box with just cardboard padding.

The extra security and ease of transport vs. just the shipper box is a nice gain.

Are you sure you used an actual wine shipping box? Or was it just a box with cardboard dividers like you find wine in at the grocery store or Costco? Because an actual wine shipping box shouldn't require (or have room for) padding the corners with t-shirts. It will have molded styrofoam or molded heavy cardboard inserts that fit the interior of the box exactly, and have pre-formed spaces within for each bottle.

It had extra-thick cardboard inserts to divide it into 12 compartments and was double thick compared to the box you'd find wine in at a supermarket or liquor store. I got it from a friend who had used it to UPS wine to her parents and they'd used it to UPS home-canned goods (pickles, iirc) back to her, and my understanding is that was its official intent, which to me makes it a wine shipping box. It did not, however, have spaces that were in any way shaped for the bottles, other than having the right square dimensions. I just filled the four corner slots with something other than bottles because I was paranoid about them as impact zones. I'm sure there are higher-end boxes used for shipping wine, but this did the trick in a way that standard corrugated boxes that are only meant to be moved when stacked on a pallet never would have.

Just like the people that say 'Canada doesn't grow wine, isn't it winter the entire year?'
(Yes, I've heard that too.)

People are usually surprised to hear MI has a wine industry. I'm an equal opportunity drinker.

I've had some great wines, but Witches Brew is not one I like. My sister? I can't explain her taste in, well anything!

I totally agree!

I actually would have guessed there is good wine in MI considering ON also has lots of good wines.
Although my favorite wines come from Chile/Spain.

This is not a DL specific topic so I am moving this discussion over to TravelBuzz where you will have a larger audience and better a response.

RSSrsvp - Moderator

I saw this product at my hotel in Sonoma the last time I visited wine country. Frankly it is a easier way to transport your wine than having to carry a bulky cardboard box is you are traveling with more than a few bottles. Also it folds neatly when not in use. It also takes TSA approved locks for those of us worried about their bottles disappearing.

Julia Child was fond of saying that one should never cook with a wine one would not be willing to drink.

And yet, for some reason they don't seem to go far beyond Michigan's borders. I'm sure they're eminently quaffable, but to me "excellent" refers to wines that travel farther from home...

Actually, there are wineries in all 50 states.

you can buy the wine of the day from wtso. if you buy 12, you will get a great shipping carton and inserts along with the wine. most wines in decent bottles go over 50 lbs for a 12 pack.

1. remove the wine purchased from wts0.
2.put 10 or11 bottles of michigan wines in the box.
3.tape the box up
4.put the box into a maxi roller(64")
5.no additional cushioning needed
6.when you check in, tell the GA what you have.
7. confirm the under 50lb limit.

i have bought at least 1 case a week from these guys for a year or two, and have yet to loose a bottle.

i have carried quite a number of cases from dca to dfw.
the big roller is easy to handle.

I'll have to second the recommendation for the Wineskin. I use these quite frequently when transporting wine in my checked luggage. I've had some bottles leak into the sealed skin, but never had any leakage out of the Wineskins. Total Wine sells them rather inexpensively.

On AA I'm allowed 70lb...
On DL you are as well off you are GM or higher.