So, there I was in Champagne, France with no way of bringing my love home…

It was July 2013, and my partner had invited me to an incredible local food and wine festival in a little known part of Champagne, way off the beaten track. It was an event celebrated primarily by locals, and not well known to the millions of wine tourists that travel to France each year. This event was special, boutique and only accessible to the type of wine aficionado who is in the know.

You know, people just like you - those who live for the love of good wine! 

Correction. Amazing wine!

So there we were at the festival, enjoying the company of the family growers from these very old Champagne houses, and delicious food paired with unique and very rare sparkling wines. So rare were these wines, the only way to experience them was to visit their small production vineyards, or attend an event like this. Something many wine fans may never have the chance to do – like our friends and family.

We had loved ones back home who were also serious wine connoisseurs. And as the festival progressed, it became obvious (nay, important) for us to bring these rare wines home and share them with those who may never get the chance. 

Not to mention they were also a fraction of the price compared to common Champagne exports! So after much discussion we decided it was a no brainer to bring our international wine home.

Or so we thought!

Getting Our Aromatic Love Home, Safe.

We asked around. How could we ship our wines back to Canada and Poland where our friends and family were? We discovered it was next to impossible. Not only is it illegal to ship without a licensed exporter, but also finding one for these small production wines was complicated - the wineries simply didn’t know how. They had never sent their wine outside the region, let alone the country!

And even if we had been able to ship, the cost was outrageous.

We’d finally found a rare aromatic love. But we’d have to leave it behind.

 

The ‘A-ha’ Moment!

We went back to the drawing board and researched more. That was when we discovered we could take wine on the plane! But now the question was, how?

Would temperature variations ruin the wine, how would we keep the bottles safe? Do we wrap them up in clothes, or buy a new suitcase and bubble wrap everything? Do we carry-on, or put them in the hold?

It was finally revealed to us that hold baggage was the preferred option! Not only could you take as many bottles as you wanted, the temperatures were stable enough so each wine maintained its original bouquet.

Then I had an a-ha moment… Wine luggage

I knew wine suitcases for sales reps existed. You know the ones - with the bottle protectors built in, on wheels, carrying 6-12 bottles per case.

But did wine luggage exist for people like us? As it turned out, not really.

After searching, we finally found a small company who sold wine luggage to people visiting Napa Valley. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t ship to Europe. But, a bottle of sparkling later, and we finally had the solution.

We partnered up! And started producing Wine Luggage for Europe.

And the rest they say is history!

 

Don’t Leave Those Liquid Memories Behind!

To date, Lazenne has flown 750,000 bottles of wine around the world without loss or breakage - and all without the expensive drama that shipping entails, or the restrictions of carry-on!

Now, when you visit one of 150 retailers around Europe, or order online you’ll find Lazenne Wine Luggage excitedly waiting to take your favorite drop back home. From Burgundy to Tuscany, Rioja to Douro - Lazenne doesn’t just make it possible to fly with wine, but we made it easy.

The sky’s the limit! The ease of placing wine in purpose-built hold luggage, the simplicity of declaring what you have and paying custom duties, and the confidence of knowing your wine arrives the moment you do, makes it crazy not to take advantage! We are devoted wine lovers after all!

 

Lazenne Also Helps Local European Wine Producers Find Their Wings

It’s not just wine drinkers who love Lazenne Wine Luggage!

Since we started making wine travel easy in 2014, small European wineries without large marketing budgets have enjoyed selling more wine! Visitors, who would normally leave with 1-2 bottles, are now leaving with 12-24 bottles, and of course, also leaving with our luggage to get those wines home safe!

Hundreds of millions of tourists visit Italy, Spain and France every year for the love of wine. But no longer do we hear the forlorn words, “I wish my friends could try this”, but instead an excited “I can’t wait to get this home to share!”

Boutique and rare wines across Europe have finally found their wings so they can fly across the world sharing their enjoyment with all wine lovers, regardless of location! And just like I returning from our amazing holiday in Champagne, with our “memories in a bottle”, you can also spend time with your aromatic love, and sip your holiday memories at home, anytime you like.

Salute!  

Paul