How to Pack Wine Bottles for a Move in Kelowna
Moving a wine collection in Kelowna is simple if you follow three rules: wrap every bottle on its own, stand the bottles upright in a padded moving tote with no more than about 12 bottles per tote, and move the wine in your own vehicle so it never sits in a freezing truck overnight. With moving tote rental from $99, Bin Ready Tote Rentals drops off clean 102L plastic moving boxes and a free dolly, and picks up the empties when you're settled. That works out to under 36¢ a tote per day, delivered and picked up.
This is wine country. Plenty of homes in Kelowna, West Kelowna, Lake Country and Penticton have a rack in the basement, a wine fridge in the kitchen and a few cases from the winery club. Here's how to get every bottle to the new place in one piece.
Two weeks out: sort, drink and count
Start the same way you'd start any room: decide what's coming with you.
Drink the everyday bottles. Anything you'd open in the next month is easier to enjoy now than to pack.
Pull out the special bottles. Older vintages, gifts and anything you'd be sad to lose go in their own tote, and that tote rides with you.
Count your bottles. Plan on about 12 bottles per tote. A small rack of 24 bottles takes 2 totes, a wine fridge of 50 takes 4 or 5, and a full cellar of 150 bottles takes 12 to 14.
Book your totes. Our packages start with Start (20 totes) $99, then Apartment (30) $149, Home (40) $189 and Family (65) $249. Every package covers 14 days. Add your wine totes to the rest of the house when you count.
How to pack wine bottles in a moving tote
A 102L tote with a snap-on lid is a great wine box. The hard plastic sides don't crush, sag or tear, and the lid keeps rain and dust out on the walk to the vehicle.
1. Pad the bottom
Lay two folded bath towels or a thin blanket on the bottom of the tote. This is the cushion every bottle sits on.
2. Wrap every bottle on its own
Wrap each bottle in a dish towel, a sweater, a thick sock or a few sheets of packing paper. Nothing glass should touch anything glass. Socks are perfect for wine: slide the bottle in neck first and it's padded in seconds.
3. Stand bottles upright, in rows
Stand the wrapped bottles upright in tight rows, like they sit in a case. For a move across town or down the valley, a few hours upright won't hurt the cork. Fill every gap with rolled towels or t-shirts so nothing can tip.
4. Stop at about 12 bottles
A bottle of wine weighs about 1.3 to 1.5 kg. Twelve bottles plus padding is about 18 to 20 kg, which is the most you want in one tote. If you can't lift it easily with two hands, take a bottle or two out and top it up with towels.
5. Shake test, then label
Snap the lid on and give the tote a gentle shake. If anything clinks, add more padding. Then slide a card like WINE 2, FRAGILE, KEEP UPRIGHT into the clear label sleeve on the side of the tote. No tape needed, and never write on the tote itself. Our labelling guide has more ideas.
Spirits, glasses and the wine fridge
Spirits and opened bottles: make sure every cap is screwed on tight, then zip-bag opened bottles before you wrap them so a drip can't soak the tote.
Wine glasses: pack them in a separate tote, upright, one layer, each wrapped on its own. Our fragile packing guide walks through it.
The wine fridge: empty it a day ahead, unplug it and wipe it dry. Move it upright, and once it's in place let it stand for a few hours before you plug it back in.
Racks: take wooden racks apart if you can and bag the screws. Wrap metal racks in a moving blanket.
Moving day: keep the wine with you
Wine doesn't like big temperature swings. In a Kelowna November or December a truck parked overnight can drop well below freezing, and a bottle that freezes can push its cork or crack. In July, a closed truck in the sun gets hot fast.
Move the wine in your own vehicle, on the floor or the back seat, not in a truck that sits overnight.
Load wine totes last so they come off first, and carry them straight inside.
Roll 2 or 3 totes at a time on the free dolly from the house to your vehicle. Heavy totes go on the floor, and keep any stack to 3 or 4 high at most.
Keep the special-bottles tote with you all day, like your keys and papers.
At the new place: let it rest
Unpack the wine into a cool, dark spot away from the furnace and the windows, and lay corked bottles back on their sides once they're on the rack. Many wine lovers give a bottle a week or two to settle before opening anything special. Then unpack the rest of the house with our unpacking guide.
Why totes beat cardboard for wine
Cardboard wine boxes get soft if a bottle leaks, and the bottom can give way when you lift a full one. Reusable plastic moving boxes have rigid sides and a solid base, they stack evenly on the dolly, and there's no tape to buy or cut. Every Bin Ready tote is sanitized between rentals.
Bin Ready serves Kelowna, West Kelowna, Glenmore, Dilworth, the Upper and Lower Mission, Rutland, Peachland, Lake Country, Vernon and Penticton with free drop-off and pickup of the empties. Need longer than 14 days? Just $2 a tote per extra week. See more moving tips, read the FAQ or browse the blog. When you're ready, book your moving totes here.
FAQ: packing wine for a move
Can I move wine bottles upright?
Yes. For a local move of a few hours, standing wrapped bottles upright in a padded tote is safe and the least likely to leak. Lay corked bottles back on their sides once they're on the rack at the new place.
How many wine bottles fit in one moving tote?
Plan on about 12 bottles per 102L tote, wrapped and padded. That keeps the tote around 18 to 20 kg so you can lift it with two hands. Fill the rest of the space with towels, not more bottles.
Should wine go on the moving truck?
It's best to move wine in your own vehicle. Trucks that sit overnight in a Kelowna winter can freeze, and in summer they get hot. Keep wine with you and carry it straight into the new home.
Moving soon? Book your Bin Ready moving totes and get clean 102L totes, a free dolly and free pickup of the empties, from $99 for 14 days.
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