The Wine Mummy

Apparently my traveling and shuttling wines back and forth to Ohio got noticed, because I received a Wine Mummy for review. The Wine Mummy is a sturdy plastic bag with a layer of bubble wrap (the large half inch bubbles, not the smaller quarter inch size), another interior layer of black plastic, and a zip top enclosure. Normally I wrap a bottle of wine in clothes or stick it in a box full of t-shirts inside my luggage, but there's always room for improvement.

My first test was to see what kind of bottles fit the bag. It's designed to hold a single 750mL bottle, but those come in assorted shapes and sizes. At home I tried out a few different bottles. In addition to the standard Bordeaux and Burgundy styles it also worked with a Rubenesque sparkling wine and a tall, slender Riesling.

My second test: put a bottle in it and fly somewhere. Fortunately I had a business trip to Cincinnati, so after judging the construction of the bag to be solid, I packed a red wine--the 2006 Strong Arms Shiraz imported by Grateful Palate from the McLaren Vale region of South Australia. $12, 15.5% abv. Obviously the wine survived baggage handling at MEM and CVG and the luggage hold of a Canadair CRJ-200, because I'm able to tell you that it's got a nose of strawberry jam and fig, with a little toast. The flavor is somewhat overwhelmed by the alcohol but ripe strawberries and stewed fruit flavors are definitely present. (While the label artwork looks like Edward Gorey, it's actually Mel Kadel.)

The Wine Mummy is available for purchase online and retails for $4.95. For the ecologically conscious, the bags are reusable. They're also able to customize bags with logos or text for special events. My suggestion? Use one of these as a stocking for Christmas. For the wine lover in your life, either put a bottle of wine in it and stick a bow on the front, or fill it with wine gadgets and other small gifts. Wrapping paper gets thrown away quickly; why not surround your gift with something useful?

Disclosure: I'm not receiving financial compensation for this review or for sales of this product. It's a genuinely good product that fits my wine needs, and I enjoy supporting companies that produce such wine/food accessories.