Most of the region’s thriving wineries were aware of the new federal restrictions on carry-on liquids on commercial airplanes within 24 hours of their implementation.
“As soon as we knew about it, we immediately changed the shipping cartons we use. They are actually airline-approved shipping boxes,” Ironstone Vineyards’ Pamela Graviet said.

She said the Murphys-based winery, which gets up to 350,000 annual visitors, is well-versed in how to ship wine - from a single bottle to a case of 12 at a time.

Since travelers are no longer allowed to carry wine bottles into the passenger compartment, they must pack them into their checked luggage. This can lead to broken bottles and overweight baggage, since an average bottle weighs 3 pounds. Many airlines charge fees for bags weighing more than 50 pounds.

“I’ve found that most people ask that we ship it to their home address so they don’t have to deal with it,” said Marie Mathews, tasting-room director at Manteca’s Delicato Family Vineyards.

Based on some individual state laws, however - such as New York and Texas - it is illegal to ship wine directly, so the tasting rooms pack it for customers to take in their luggage.

Ironstone, for instance, no longer provides carry-on cartons for customers who say they are flying home. Instead, it provides a shipping carton made from recycled paper for one, three, six or 12 bottles. It’s the same carton the winery has been using for years to send bottles around the world.

At the Lodi Wine & Visitors Center, which offers more than 200 wines all made with local grapes, manager Kelli Mettler has noticed the questions are picking up from out-of-state travelers since the new regulations took effect.

“What we’ve been doing is a lot of education. Probably the biggest concern is consumers who are taking six bottles or more onto the plane,” Mettler said.

“There is more caution with buyers in terms of how am I going to get this home,” she said.

She said the time has come for states with wine-shipping restrictions to review their laws and consider making changes.

“The new airline rules bring to light that we do need to push for change when it comes to wine shipments into states that have restrictions,” Mettler said.