You face the prospect of moving wine. A personal collection can represent lots of money, many weekends, and possibly years spent in the acquisition process! You are likely reluctant to give them all away, or (enticing as it sounds) drink them up quickly. The first thing to know is if you are moving wine just a short distance using a moving company to transport wine is just fine. If however, you are moving wine cross country you may want to look into a transportation company that will move the wine in a temperature-controlled van. The biggest potential transportation hazard besides breakage is temperature fluctuation.
- Assess the wine’s value. If you determine that the wine is of high value you will need to fill out a High-Value Inventory form with the moving company doing the transporting to ensure you are covered for the full value of the wine collection.
- You can purchase all the materials for proper packaging from the moving company.
- If you are moving out of state check with the destination state to ensure that you can legally import the bottles.
- To ensure against breakage, package your bottles well. Professional movers sell boxes and paper for proper packaging, or you can order supplies online from sites such as California Glass Co.
- You don’t have to purchase special wine boxes you can pack bottles (unopened only!) on their sides for maximum cork contact in book boxes. Put some paper on the bottom of the box for extra padding then wrap each bottle individually in newsprint and lay the bottle on its side. Label boxes “FRAGILE,” and “THIS SIDE UP.” Check out our video How to Pack Wine for Moving.
After you arrive in your new home refrain from popping that cork when you arrive at your beautiful new home. A good rule of thumb is to allow a week’s rest for each day in transit, so the wines may recover from any “bottle shock” incurred during the move.