How to Move a Wine Collection

Do you happen to be a wine collector who’s getting ready for a move? If YES, then you should know that moving your wine bottles between the two homes won’t be easy because of 3 undeniable facts:

1) glass bottles are fragile and can break easily,

2) your wine bottles will most likely be (extremely) valuable, and

3) the wine itself is highly volatile and its quality may be affected negatively during the move.

It won’t really matter whether you’re a casual wine collector or a true wine connoisseur because the ultimate goal will remain the same – to relocate the wine collection safely. Yes, the same priceless collection in which you’ve invested plenty of effort, time, and money to build over the years.

Follow these tips for moving a wine collection to make sure that each valuable wine bottle survives the move in perfect condition.

Step 1: DECIDE who’s going to move your wine collection

The very first step to moving a wine collection to another home is to decide upfront who’s going to do it – you or a professional moving company. In fact, this is a really crucial moment because it will determine the next steps in the wine relocation process.

Option 1. Move your wine collection by yourself

This is an excellent option when you have a small wine collection, you’re moving only a short distance away, and you don’t want strangers to handle your prized wine bottles. If you can fit your entire collection in your family car and transport it to the new place on your own, then that’s the preferred way to do it.

Moving a wine collection by yourself will give you complete control over the process and should also give you that all-important peace of mind that your precious wine is in the best possible hands – your own.

Of course, you’re still going to have to follow the best wine packing and transportation practices described below.

Option 2: Hire a household moving company

Trusting a residential moving company to transport your wine collection is a good option when you’re not moving over a long distance (moving locally), when your wine collection is not particularly valuable, and when the temperatures outside are not extreme.

In this case, you can just have your movers transport your wine bottles with the rest of the household goods. Nevertheless, you still don’t want to find your wine collection ruined by incompetent movers, so you must make sure the moving company you hire has a decent amount of wine moving experience.

If you choose to go with a moving company that does NOT specialize in moving wine, then do consider filling out a high-value inventory so that you get a better degree of coverage in case of any transportation problems.

Option 3. Hire a specialized wine mover

By far, the best option you’ve got is to hire a company that specializes in moving wine.

In fact, using wine relocation specialists is a good option when you’re moving a large and valuable wine collection over a long distance, usually in the summer.

In such cases, the wine mover should be able to offer you a climate-controlled van so that the temperature inside the vehicle can be optimal for the wine throughout the move regardless of the ambient temperature outside.

How much does it cost to hire movers?

Step 2: HAVE your wine collection appraised

If you intend to move your not-that-valuable wine collection in your own car, then you don’t really need to have your wine collection appraised by a specialist. In all other cases, wine appraisal is a good idea because it will help you determine not only the best way to transport the wine bottles, but also whether or not you should purchase adequate insurance for your wine collection.

If you own a large wine collection that is worth a lot of money, then you should definitely hire a qualified wine appraiser to determine its actual worth. Wine appraisal fees can vary greatly from state to state. In general, professional wine appraisers charge by the hour but you should be able to find one for a flat fee as well, if that’s what you want.

All in all, it’s important to know the true market value of your wine collection so that you can get the right type of coverage in case you’re about to trust a moving company to handle your bottles. That way, if something bad happened to any of your wine bottles, you’d be able to file a claim with the mover.

It shouldn’t be too hard to find a certified and reputable wine appraiser in your area – just contact specialized wine stores in your town or city and they should be able to recommend one. If that doesn’t work, you can always ask a fellow wine collector for advice. If that fails too, then find one through the website of the American Society of Appraisers.

Step 3: CHECK the destination state regulations

Moving a wine collection to another state may sometimes prove to be a bit trickier than you want. When moving across the country, you must check the regulations of the destination state because alcoholic beverages are regulated differently in different states.

Basically, what that means is that some states in the country will have certain restrictions about the amount of alcohol – wine, in your particular case – that can be transposed or brought into the state for personal use.

In the majority of cases, you should not have any legal problems moving your wine collection to a new state. Nevertheless, you have to be sure before you start packing your wine bottles for a move.

Click here to check the state regulations set by the alcohol beverage authorities in the United States.

Step 4: INVENTORY your wine collection

The next step in the wine transportation process is to inventory your wine collection. Doing a wine inventory is necessary for a couple of reasons:

1) you will know exactly what type of wine you have in your collection and the total number of bottles in it; and

2) you will have a detailed record of your wine collection in case a bottle went missing mysteriously when using professional wine moving services.

How to inventory your wine collection? Take a photo of each bottle as you’re creating the inventory. Be sure to mark down any rare or vintage wine bottles you own. Your detailed wine inventory sheet can be used as a packing list as well to keep track of what you’ve already packed and what you’re yet to pack up.

During the wine inventory task, you may decide to optimize your wine collection – a well-timed decision that should be beneficial for you right before the relocation. Ultimately, you’ll have the option to sell part of your wine collection, especially in case of duplicates, or to gift some special bottles of wine to some special people – the perfect goodbye gifts you can think of.

How to make a home inventory when moving

Step 5: GET the right wine shipping boxes

It’s important to keep in mind that the best way to pack a wine collection is to trust specialized wine packers with the task. Those professional packers and transporters have years of wine packing experience and will come to your home with the right packing materials for the job.

And yet, you should be able to pack your wine bottles on your own too as long as you’ve got the proper wine shipping boxes.

Wine shipping kits

It’s very important that you choose the proper boxes in which you will pack and ship your wine bottles. Your first option is to order wine shipping kits online or purchase those from a local wine store.

Those boxes come with a protective Styrofoam base that will keep the wine bottles protected while on the road. The Styrofoam insert has holes in it and each hole will fit one glass bottle, usually up to 3 7/8’’ in diameter.

Wine shipping kits cost between $7 and $12 depending on the bottle quantity they can hold – from a single bottle up to 12 bottles at a time.

Corrugated wine shippers

The better way to pack your wine collection is to use corrugated wine shippers that can hold from 1 to 12 bottles. Those specialized wine shipping boxes provide better protection than wine shipping kits because the inserts – made from durable recyclable Kraft paper – protect the entire length of the bottles.

Considering the fact that corrugated wine shippers cost the same as wine shipping kits – roughly $12 for a 12-bottle box, and provide better overall protection, you’d be better off getting those for your wine packing needs.

Wooden crates

If your wine collection is really valuable, then you may want to provide the best protection for every single bottle of wine you own.

In such cases, wooden crates will be the answer to your shipping needs because they are extremely durable and safe to be used in climate-controlled moving trucks as well.

Contact your local wine store for advice on where you can get wooden wine shipping crates.

What to budget for when moving

Step 6: PACK & MOVE your wine collection with care

Once you have obtained the proper wine packing boxes, things should be quite alright. Packing wine for shipping is not complicated by any means – you only need to follow a few safety tips to make sure your valuable wine collection reaches the new home in perfect condition.

• Reinforce the boxes. Reinforce the bottom of each wine shipping box with packing tape. Make sure the cardboard boxes will safely hold the weight. Always use brand new boxes when moving wine bottles – second-hand boxes are never worth the risk as you’ll be moving very fragile and very valuable items.
• Pack each bottle separately. That’s common sense but still, judgment errors are never out of the question during a chaotic house move. For maximum protection, place each bottle of wine into a separate Styrofoam base hole or into a corrugated cardboard insert. Do NOT pack wine bottles that have already been opened.
• Immobilize each box. Once you’ve filled each wine shipping box with bottles – do not put more bottles than a box is meant to hold, place sheets of packing paper or bubble wrap on top to fill any gaps inside. Basically, you want to make sure that no bottle inside the box will move during the relocation. Shake very gently the box to check that you won’t hear any bottles clanging together.
• Close the boxes. Tape each wine moving box shut with several layers of packing tape. Mark each box with FRAGILE on at least two of its sides.
• Load the boxes horizontally. As a rule, you should transport corked wine bottles on their sides (horizontally) to ensure that the corks remain wet and that no air can seep in. So, make sure you load your wine shipping boxes on their sides for the haul to the new home.
• Avoid bottle shock. Do not open any bottles too soon after the move due to a phenomenon called bottle shock – the loss of flavor after a bottle of wine is opened too early after it has been seriously shaken in transit. So, if you intend to open a bottle from your wine collection to celebrate a successful house move, you’d better wait at least 7 days to do it.

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