Best of the Best

Carrying a bottle of wine is not necessarily an easy task. Unless the wine you’re bringing comes in a box, and I don’t always recommend those—though I’ve nothing against them either—bottles are, well…fragile. Drop a bottle and you’re probably going to spill your wine and it won’t be pretty. It will even be less pretty if it’s a good and perhaps expensive bottle of wine.

The answer to this quandary is a wine tote. Portable wine transportation is not terribly expensive and is a great way to both transport and protect wine on the go. Since the airlines have fairly well nixed bringing bottles of wine on an airplane, you’ll probably have to ship the wine to distant addresses. Whatever you do, don’t risk putting a bottle of wine into your checked bags. Most airlines do not pressurize the luggage compartments of aircraft and wine bottles have a tendency to break under those conditions leaving you with lovely smelling clothing, albeit not spring fresh. No, this will leave your clothes redolent of cassis, leather and vanilla with a dark fruit core, and they will most certainly not be the color you want.

However, if you’re transporting to parties, friends’ homes, picnics or wherever you enjoy a glass of wine, then a sturdy wine tote is the coolest thing in the world. Yes, the bottle you bring will impress your friends. But just like your friends are happy that you came, they’re more impressed if you come in a BMW. So it is true with your wine. They’ll be glad the wine is there, but more impressed with how it arrived.

Wine totes do tend to limit how many bottles you carry simply because wine bottles are heavy, and it’s assumed you aren’t going to bring a case of wine with you to a dinner party. However, you can transport multiple bottles safely and soundly. Here’s a list of the best ride for your wine.