When my husband and I fly down to Colorado to visit our relatives, we always make a visit to a few wineries. One of them sells an amazing wine called Blackberry Velvet, that tastes like a liqueur, and it is my all time favorite wine to drink after a meal with company.
Unfortunately, we don’t buy this wine to bring home because we are afraid of the bottle getting broken in our suitcase and ruining our clothing. It just wasn’t worth the risk. Now we don’t have to worry about a bottle of wine, or any other delicate items breaking in our suitcases, because of a great product called the VinniBag.
The VinniBag is shaped like a bottle of wine, tall and slender. It measures 23″ long and 8 1/2″ wide and weighs only 9 ounces. The makers of the VinniBag designed it to protect 750 ml sized wine bottles, but it could be used to hold and protect other glass bottles or delicate items as long as they fit into the bag. It will hold items up to 13″ in height.
Using the VinniBag is easy and fast. You simply slide the bottle of wine (or other items) into the VinniBag, inflate it by blowing into the valve, flatten the excess bottom area and roll it tightly . When the bag has reached the contents there is a plastic buckle that you snap closed to keep the air inside of the bag and keep the contents protected.
When I wanted to buy my Blackberry Velvet wine on a trip last summer, the sales gal who worked at the winery said they don’t recommend taking wine bottles on airplanes due to the pressure changes from high altitudes, so I sadly decided not to do so. However, I have learned that the VinniBag is actually designed for high altitude air travel!
The VinniBag is clear so you can easily see the contents, and it has special air chambers that cushion your bottle of wine (or whatever you choose to put into it). It does an excellent job of protecting my wine, but be warned that when inflated, this bag does take up more room in your suitcase – but it sure beats the alternative of wrapping a bottle of wine in my clothing to protect them. That is a disaster waiting to happen.
If you have trouble inflating the VinniBag, you can use a hand pump, but really, this bag does not require much lung power to inflate. There have been times when I wanted to buy other items that came in glass containers, such as grandmas homemade jelly. Other times I had wanted to buy that special barbecue sauce that can only be purchased in Louisiana. Now I don’t have to worry about my items getting home in one piece, and no more worries about any bottles of shampoo or other liquids spilling in my suitcase, because the VinniBag is useful for a wide variety of things – as long as what you are putting into it is not sharp.
The VinniBag is a great invention! They are a little on the expensive side, retailing for $24.95, but they can be used over and over. If you travel a lot this might be just what you have been looking for.
