There's m-----f-----' Willamette Valley Pinot Noir on the m-----f-----' plane!

September 4, 2008 8:33 AM

Can I take an unopened bottle of wine in my carry-on luggage?

I am flying on American Airlines from O'Hare to LaGuardia this weekend, and I would like to bring a nice bottle of wine to show my gratitude to friends who will be putting me up in NY. My carry-on luggage is the legal size.

Please note: I do not consider checking baggage to be an option that is preferable to simply leaving the wine at home.

Futhermore, I am not concerned with logistical difficulties, only with whether or not the airline is going to yoink my booze.

posted by Ignatius J. Reilly to travel & transportation (23 comments total)

no.
posted by enfa at 8:41 AM on September 4, 2008

No, the limit on fluids in carry-ons is still in place.
posted by internet!Hannah at 8:41 AM on September 4, 2008

no
posted by Deep Dish at 8:42 AM on September 4, 2008

Check here.
posted by comatose at 8:42 AM on September 4, 2008

Nope, you cannot. Wine is specifically mentioned on the holiday travel page as well.
posted by marginaliana at 8:47 AM on September 4, 2008

Thanks, everyone. I should point out that I am not a moron, but I have seen several travel websites that indicate it's OK to carry on wine--I had assumed they were outdated but was hoping for the best. Oh well.
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 8:49 AM on September 4, 2008

Only if the bottle is three ounces. For the record, unopened jars of jam are also "a liquid" and thus subject to the [grits teeth] 3-1-1- rule.

Ship it with a "DO NOT OPEN UNTIL I ARRIVE" tag for a cute gift. (Shipping possibly technically illegal depending on state regs.)
posted by desuetude at 8:53 AM on September 4, 2008

I think if you buy it inside the security gate you might be okay... but maybe that's only for duty-free shopping which wouldn't apply in this case then.
posted by polexa at 8:58 AM on September 4, 2008

Buy the wine when you get here, maybe at Astor Wines (great liquor store/wine shop!), and make sure you stop by at the meet-up this weekend to say hello!
posted by Grither at 9:00 AM on September 4, 2008

no way.
posted by mateuslee at 9:25 AM on September 4, 2008

At MDW and SEA-TAC this weekend, the TSA in the security line I was in confiscated a 5 ounce jar of jam (hey, desuetude, were you flying out of SEA-TAC this weekend?), a 6 ounce jar of mustard and two mini-bottles of booze (which were not in the baggie with the other liquids).

So, no, you can't and I wouldn't risk it.
posted by crush-onastick at 9:31 AM on September 4, 2008

Nope, I was not flying out of SEA-TAC. But I do like jam.

Ignatius, you get a small funnel and fill up 8 or 9 three-ounce bottles with vino, then put them in a zip-top bag and sail through security. As a fellow carry-on-only traveler, I would support this for the principle of the thing.
posted by desuetude at 9:40 AM on September 4, 2008

You can bring wine on carry-on if you buy it in the airport after security.
posted by JJ86 at 9:45 AM on September 4, 2008

Yeah, my Mom's homemade jam was confiscated at SEA last Christmas by the biggest jerk of a TSA lady I've ever heard about. My Mom was literally in tears. So no, no liquids, nada.
posted by arnicae at 10:02 AM on September 4, 2008

OK, I'm not suggesting you do anything "against the rules" or "illegal" here, I'm only telling you about a...um...habit of mine.

I like buying the large-size sticks of deodorant because they run out on a less-frequent basis which means less times per month that I have to remember to grab them at the store. Unfortunately the large size of my preferred brand is just over the TSA limit for liquids / gels that can be carried aboard. Also unfortunately, I travel almost constantly for work. If the TSA agents at EWR and ORD and a million other 3-letter abbreviations think for a second that I'm going to switch my shopping and personal hygiene habits to suit their inane rules, let's just say they have another thing coming.

So, my normal airport routine now looks like this:

1. Drop off rental car.
2. Take deodorant out of carry-on, put in back pants pocket.
3. Proceed through security.
4. Return life-threatening underarm stick to carry-on baggage.
5. Travel like a secret felon.

Sometimes I find myself in line with a bottle of water that I don't feel like chugging, or leaving behind. Solution? Other pants pocket. Recently I've been doing a lot of long-distance international travel where I needed to bring a tub of hair gel and some sun screen and such in my carry on. Solution? Cargo shorts.

I think you see where I'm going. I just make sure to put everything metal through the x-ray and that way avoid a pat-down were the detector to go off. And then I put my harmless items back in my bag and travel in my former state of convenience.

I am not suggesting that you use this method to travel with a bottle of wine, I'm only saying it could probably be pulled off. Although you might have a harder time convincing them that you accidentally forgot it was in your pocket, like I could claim with my deodorant.

I'm also not suggesting that you try this with a live snake.

Suffice to say airport security is still pretty much a joke.
posted by allkindsoftime at 10:14 AM on September 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

It seems like it would be pretty easy for you to buy a bottle of wine when you get there.
posted by jozxyqk at 10:15 AM on September 4, 2008

You can't get a wine bottle through security (I couldn't even get water through), but once on the other side of the security check, you are free to buy wine and carry it on with you.
posted by -harlequin- at 10:30 AM on September 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I should point out that I am not a moron

it's OK there's all sorts of outdated info out there, even from legitimate sources -- that's what AskMe is for
posted by matteo at 10:59 AM on September 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

You could always have the wine shipped. Wine.com now ships a few Willamette Valley Pinots to NY.

For future reference, at JFK there's a great wine store in Terminal 8 called Vino Volo.
posted by CruiseSavvy at 11:22 AM on September 4, 2008

Please note: I do not consider checking baggage to be an option that is preferable to simply leaving the wine at home.

If I'm parsing this sentence right, you mean you'd rather leave the wine at home than check a bag? For reference, I've routinely packed wine in my checked bags without issue. I double/tripple bag it, however, with those 5 gallon zip lock bags.

Also, if you're going to mail it, it's worth pointing out that it is illegal for you to send alcohol through the USPS. UPS and Fedex have similar rules. The only legal way is for a licensed wine distributor to mail it.

Though last time I tried the guy at Kinkos said I should just carefully pack my "soda" at home and bring it back in. I ended up putting the bottles in my checked bags.
posted by sbutler at 12:23 PM on September 4, 2008

If I'm parsing this sentence right, you mean you'd rather leave the wine at home than check a bag? For reference, I've routinely packed wine in my checked bags without issue.

Yeah, you're reading it correctly. I'm getting in on a tight timeline, and I just hate checking bags.

And thanks to all the other suggestions upthread. I have a particular bottle I'd like to give my friends, one that I could never afford to just go out and buy (long story). I will wait until we next interact outside the auspices of the TSA.
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 12:31 PM on September 4, 2008

My sweetie just brought up a bottle of wine on southwest, but he had wrapped it in a yoga mat and checked his luggage. They made him unpack it and gave him this extra bubble wrap thingy which they said was required, so he wrapped it back up in both that and the mat.

Arrived safely, and was delicious.
posted by anitanita at 12:43 PM on September 4, 2008

I forgot I had a whiskey flask in my backpack on a skiing trip this spring. I was given the option to drink it in front of the security guard or dump it out (into a water bottle, since the whiskey is flammable). I wasn't up for 7 ounces of Lagavulin at 9am, so he dumped it.

I'm pretty sure I cried 7 ounces of tears.
posted by Killick at 3:47 PM on September 4, 2008 [1 favorite]