UPS busted the bottles?

[Donatelo]

I packaged up two bottles of wine for my son down in San Antonio . UPS left a message on my phone that the package leaked/ was ruined/ blah blah blah. How can wine be shipped without them busting open the package.? I'm pretty sure that I had enough bubble wrap and the box was in good shape.
Back when I was working my way through college I worked for Fed Ex for a while. They throw those packages like they think they can destroy anything., just trying to bust something.
I think the corks were secure, but if they shook the bottles?

 

[ceeaton]

FIrst, as you know, have plenty of bubble wrap. Second, once a bottle is wrapped in bubble wrap, put it in a zip lock bag that you can close, then enclose that in more bubble wrap. The important thing is to make sure that the bottles have no wiggle room in the box. I test mine by throwing them back and forth with my friend in the next cubical. If we feel the bottles shift when catching the box, it needs more bubble wrap. Putting a shrink wrap cap on the bottle may help, but if there is some carbonation in the finished wine, that cork is gonna push out if it gets shaken enought. Just my two cents worth. I haven't had any troubles shipping before, but I have a few "experts" that I work with who ship easy to break cargo all of the time. Just passing on what they have taught me, hope it helps.

 

[sour_grapes]

I occasionally buy wine from wtso.com. They ship wine in cardboard "clamshells" that tightly grip the bottles and stop them from moving. You could buy a few batches from them, then recycle their packaging.

I used to ship a lot of sensitive equipment. What I finally settled on was wrapping and boxing the equipment like you thought would work. Then, take that box and put it into another box, slightly larger, with packing peanuts or whatever, between the two boxes. Worked like a charm.

 

[balatonwine]

UPS and FedEx approved (because they are rough on packages):

http://spiritedshipper.com/category/3/bottle-shippers/p/0/0

Such information is not difficult to find:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=wine+bottle+shipping+boxes

 

[Donatelo]

Thanks , guys. I'll probably wait until I make a run down there to see him and take EXTRA bottle so he will have a supply of wine.

 

[cgallamo]

I occasionally buy wine from wtso.com. They ship wine in cardboard "clamshells" that tightly grip the bottles and stop them from moving. You could buy a few batches from them, then recycle their packaging.

This is what I do. Buy a four pack and then recycle the packaging - for shipping to friends and relatives.

 

[skyfire322]

They ship wine in cardboard "clamshells" that tightly grip the bottles and stop them from moving. You could buy a few batches from them, then recycle their packaging..

The winery I worked at used those clamshells and lined the with bubble wrap when shipping wine to club members and we never had a problem.

 

[dcbrown73]

The best bet is to save shipping containers when you buy wine online.

I bought a four pack of 3-bottle shippers from ULine. Cough, the price of the containers and after shipping them to me, it was $50+ for them!

 

[stickman]

I have a family member that belongs to a wine club, so I just ask them to save a few shipping boxes for me. If I didn't have that option available to me, I would just make my own shippers, it can be fun to customize a box with a hot glue gun and some scrap corrugated cardboard.

 

[BryanM362]

If the package ships via airplane, the lower exterior pressure at altitude could also allow the cork to push out, especially if there is any carbonation pushing from the inside....

 

[Boatboy24]

I occasionally buy wine from wtso.com. They ship wine in cardboard "clamshells" that tightly grip the bottles and stop them from moving. You could buy a few batches from them, then recycle their packaging.

I do the same - always save those boxes when they come. I'm also a member of a club where I get two bottles/quarter. They use the same clamshells, just a smaller box. Good reason to buy some wine online.

 

[Donatelo]

This is what I believe happened. Like ByanM said The aircraft holds are not always pressurized. and the decrease in pressure pulled the corks.

 

[wrongway]

Sorry to here about your Misfortune! I am glad I found these posts as I would not have thought twice about the pitfalls of shipping wine! Thanks