Delta Will Now Fly Your California Wine Home for Free

Anyone who has tried to cram a few bottles of Sonoma Cabernet into a carry-on knows the quiet dread of a cracked bottle at baggage claim. Delta is now offering a way around that problem. Starting October 6, SkyMiles members can check one case of wine for free when they fly from selected California airports to destinations within the United States.

The perk covers five departure points: San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Sacramento and Sonoma County. Travelers need to pack the wine in an approved shipping box or travel container, bring it to the Delta ticket counter for inspection and check-in, and collect it at the baggage claim of the arrival airport. The airline has pitched it as a reason to explore wine country, and the geography fits, since all five airports sit within reach of Napa, Sonoma and the surrounding valleys.

There are still limits. Standard checked-baggage size and weight limits continue to apply, so a case that tips the scales will not ride free simply because it is wine. The announcement also leaves a few questions open, including what Delta normally charges for checking wine, whether the perk applies to every fare type, and how many cases a single passenger can send.

For the wine-country visitor, the practical gain is real: no more paying a bag fee, or a shipping company, to carry home the bottles you actually liked. Travelers planning a harvest-season trip should check the terms on Delta’s site and buy a proper wine shipper before they head to the airport.

Sources: AirlineGeeks, The Points Guy