In Flight Advice: Save Your Socks and Air-Cushion Your Wine

Vinnibag promises to keep your vintage safe, even in the baggage compartment.

‘Tis the season for bucolic forays into Napa, Sonoma, and Tuscany (who are we kidding, that kind of travel’s always in season). And while I don’t generally write about products, this one caught my eye. Even thought I employ Ziploc bags, bubble wrap, and a sophisticated layering of socks and brassieres, many’s the time I’ve stood at baggage claim praying that the wine/olive oil/rum I’d brought home hadn’t “seasoned” the inside of my suitcase. This simple prophylactic system puts one more layer of barrier between your vintage and your dainties. A note from their press release:

VinniBag is a versatile travel accessory that suspends items in an air cushion, providing protection against impact and leakage of wine and olive oil to antique tea cups while traveling or on the road. Both the sophisticated design and material of VinniBag easily tolerate significant changes in air pressure and temperature, thereby allowing for safe travel by air, car, rail, bike, backpack and much more. What sets this bag apart from the rest is that it is reusable, recyclable, and only $28.

So, while I’m confused by the distinction between “traveling” and “on the road,” and while I don’t usually travel “by backpack” (unless I’ve had one too many el diablos and it’s the only way of getting me out to the car), I can’t help but think this is one of those simple yet ingenious ideas that could save my socks once and for all.