Are you looking for the best way to pack your fragile wine glasses? As a wine-lover, you want to make sure that your often expensive crystal gets to your new home in one piece. After all, you want to be ready to celebrate your recent move in style.
Delicate stemware can be stressful to pack. Luckily, we have created a step-by-step guide for you, including substitutions and other tips and tricks. Can’t find cardboard dividers? No problem. Don’t have enough packing paper/want to use what you have? There are options.
This short and sweet guide will have you packing all your wine glasses for moving in no time.
Table of Contents
Materials
Here’s what you’ll need to pack your wine glasses. See below this list for details and substitutions for some items.
- Cell boxes. Your box needs to be tall enough for wine glasses. See notes below. Measure your tallest wine glass and pick a box size accordingly. If you can get your hands on a box with thicker than usual sides, save that for wine glasses and other breakable things you need to pack.
- Cardboard dividers. If you didn’t purchase a cell box, you probably will want to pick up some separate cardboard dividers for the box. Dividers are so critical in my opinion for packing glasses and mugs. If you can’t find any, see our note down below.
- Packing paper. See note about bubble wrap down below. Avoid newsprint if you don’t want to have to scrub all of your wine glasses when you unpack.
- Tissue paper. For inside the glasses. You can also use paper towels.
- Packing tape. To secure everything.
Step-by-Step Packing Method
Fill
Grab your tissue paper and stuff the interior of the wine glass. This will help prevent vibrations that could break the glass.
Wrap
Place your packing paper sheet or bubble wrap on the padded ground. Place the wine glass on its side, and roll the packaging around the glass, taking special care that the stem is wrapped with multiple layers of bubble wrap or packing paper. Tuck the edges of the paper in as you go and tape in place. All parts of the glass should be covered in 3-5+ layers of packing materials.
Your wine glass should look like a burrito when it’s all wrapped up.
It can be helpful to label the burrito “wine glass”, so you don’t forget what it is and pack it in the wrong box if you get called away before finishing packing.
Pad
Pad the bottom of the box with a few layers of packing paper so that the wine glasses have another layer of cushioning. This is especially important if you aren’t using a special box made specifically for moving.
Pack
Place your thoroughly wrapped wine glasses in the box, stem down, standing up. Repeat steps 1-4 with the remaining glasses.
Layer
If you’re using a tall box, when the bottom layer is full, layer packing paper or bubble wrap on top and put another cell divider on top. Repeat steps 1-4.
Stuff
When all the wine glasses are packed, stuff the box with packing materials so that there is no remaining space for the glasses to move around. If you have extra cells leftover, don’t forget to stuff those with paper or bubble wrap.
While you do not want the wine glasses to shift during moving, make sure not to force padding or wine glasses into extra space as the pressure could cause the wine glasses to break.
Close
Tape and label “FRAGILE wine glasses.” Include arrows to show which way the box should be carried. Make sure every side of the box is labeled.
Substitutions
Boxes
If you can get your hands on a dish partition pack box, these are created specifically to pack fragile china and crystal wear and have extra padding for these valuable kitchen items.
You generally don’t want to use a box that is any bigger than medium size. Overlaying your glasses can put too much pressure and weight on the bottom wine glasses.
If you move a lot like we do, you can up your game by getting a Wine Glass Storage Box. It’s been awesome for us and we’ve had zero broken wine glasses since we picked it up.
Bubble wrap
There is an ongoing debate about whether or not you should use bubble wrap for packing wine glasses. The plastic bubbles can leave marks on the glassware that must be scrubbed off. The plastic might also stick to glass, making it harder to clear off and more prone to extra pressure and breakage.
While some people use plastic wrap with no issues, others recommend wrapping your wine glasses in packing paper before using any bubble wrap.
For the record, we always use packing foam sheets or packing paper and never bubble wrap.
Socks
If you’re on a really tight budget and are trying to save money anywhere you can, you can also use socks to wrap champagne glasses and wine glasses. Replace the first layers of packing paper with a sock. Stuff extra sock material in the globe of the wine glass. For added stability, cover with wrapping paper.
Padding
Instead of using more packing paper on the bottom and top of your boxes, use things you can find around your house to pad the box. Sweaters, coats, towels, scarves, and blankets can make excellent substitutes for packing paper.
What to do if you don’t have dividers…
If you cannot find dividers for your wine glasses, you will need even more packaging materials to make sure your box is thoroughly insulated. Add extra layers to your wine glass “burrito” (see step-by-step guide below). Completely layer the bottom of your box before packing and the top after filling.
Put your wine glasses in the box stem first. Ensure there is no extra space in the box for the glasses to move before sealing it up. Otherwise, packing wine glasses without dividers follows the same steps as with dividers.
Final Notes
There you have it! Carefully wrapped wine glasses. When you arrive at your new house, treat your wine glasses with care. Unwrap them individually and rinse out any dust that might have settled inside. Cheers!
