and DHL would still ship it no questions asked.
Sorry to revive an old thread, but I’m using my Wine Check for the first time this weekend, and I’m wondering how careful I need to be about keeping it under the 50 pound weight limit. Folks who have used these a lot, will heavier bottles push it over the edge, or can I pack whatever bottles I want without worrying about it? I’m just not sure how much wiggle room there is.
You do have to watch the weight. A lot of monster wine bottles top 4lbs. filled, and some airlines are extremely strict about the 50 lb. limit.
Ok, thanks. I suppose I will err on the side of caution. I may have a luggage scale hiding in a drawer somewhere, but I don’t have much faith in its accuracy (or, more precisely, in its agreement with the scales at the airport).
I’ve transported mostly champagne and haven’t exceeded 50 lb; it’s a bigger issue with the vinguard valise.
One thing to watch out for is that some of the European airlines (I’m looking at you, Austrian) now have strict weight limits (8 kg!) on all carry-on luggage.
I have been dinged some hefty fees for checking my “overweight” roll-aboard as a result of having to unexpectedly check a carry-on bag.
Fly business class and you won’t have a problem with weight. 
Those monster BdM riserva bottles, bottles from Mendoza, Champagne bottles, and probably a few others can easily get you over 50lbs. If you use a Vingardevalise, you will have less leeway because it weighs more than the Wine Check. It is however, much easier to maneuver. The Wine Check are two very different answers to the same problem. As I got older, lifting and toting got more difficult so I now use the Vingardevalise. If you are interested in that solution, you can find them on Amazon and this company in Napa also sells them and can personalize them. https://www.flywithwine.com/. And like most other consumer product companies, they seem to have a sale for every holiday. They make 12 bottle, 8 bottle, and 5 bottle wine suitcases now. I can say that most bottles, even the tall ones from the Alsace and Germany will fit. I had to buy a configurable insert for one of my cases because I needed to carry some really odd shaped Champagne bottles. I think they call it a “do it yourself” insert. Definitely a bigger investment for a wine suitcase but mine has held up well on trips to Europe, South America, South Africa, and wine regions in the U.S.
Sean, I’ve had a lot of experience with it, obviously, and never gotten over 46lb, no matter how hard I tried. I imagine that a full case (or perhaps half a case) of mega-glass Reserve bottles might tip the scales, but I’d be surprised, as the unit itself is only 4 lb., versus 16 lb. for the Vingarde Valise (newest model)
I’ll need a new one soon.
Lots of use on my current model–no complaints! ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
I loaded it, found my home luggage scale, and it’s reading 45 pounds. I’ll have to wait for tomorrow AM to see what the airline’s verdict is 
You should be fine Sean. I never had an issue with a Wine Check other than my physical limitations. The Wine Check does weigh a lot less than the Vingarde. My 12 bottle Vingarde weighs 13.5lbs and my 8 bottle Vingarde weighs 11.5lbs. If you carry 12 bottles and want to stay under the 50lb economy checked bag limit, you are pretty much limited to standard Bordeaux type bottles that weigh about 3.0lbs each. Since we typically fly business/first the weight limit is usually 70lbs. We needed every bit of that limit when we returned from a trip to Argentina. Heavy bottles are a thing in Mendoza. One of my Vingarde’s weighed 67lbs at check in.
Actual weight at the airport ended up being about 6 pounds, so just a tad more than my scale at home said. No problem, and all bottles made it to their destination safely!