For years, I’ve read in backpacking magazines about hikers carrying beer with them, and I have to admit my bias…I just can’t think of many things more disgusting than a warm can o’ suds.  Backpacking wine is something else. Red wine, particularly, can handle warmer temperatures better, and you’re only sipping 3 or 4 ounces compared to 12 of beer; less weight and bulk to carry!  And, of course, if you know you’re going to be camping near water…well, white wine’s a nice option to go with the trout you are of course going to catch.

Historically, there’s been a big problem with backpacking wine has been carrying glass bottles. Heavy in, heavy out, and prone to breakage, leading to a messy pack and major disappointment. However, two things have changed that. The first is the proliferation of decent wine in boxes, ranging from 500ml to more than you’d want to carry!  That alone changed the way that we looked at carrying wine…but then something even better came along.  The PlatyPreserve is a bladder, like a hydration bladder, with plastic formulated to not ruin the taste of wine.  It was designed originally for home use, so that you could keep air from ruining an open bottle…but its highest and best use is backpacking!  Pick your favorite wine, from Two Buck Chuck to Petrus (yes, I know that’s just wrong, but you COULD do it), pour it in, seal it, slide it in your pack.  We’ve used these things for several years, and had zero problems with spills, leakage, or breakage.  Obviously, you want to use some caution in putting them near the pointy ends of things, but with a minimum of caution, you can have a maximum of pleasure in the woods!

Now, it’s certainly possible to drink your wine from your coffee mug, and in a pinch, I’m sure we’d drink it directly from the PlatyPreserve if we had to.  But, there’s something so incongruously civilized about sitting back after a hard day, looking out over a mountain valley, with a wineglass in hand.  And for years, the GSI Outdoors Wine Glass has allowed us to do just that.  The stem unscrews and pops inside the glass to make a nice, compact little bundle that weighs less than 3 ounces.  Open it up, put it together…instant camping decadence!  Swirl your wine, enjoy the color, sniff the bouquet, and feel sorry for the (other) unwashed masses getting covered with foam as they open their warm, well-shaken beer cans.

For the record, you CAN break these glasses, although it isn’t easy; try to avoid putting undue pressure on the stem/glass junction when they’re screwed together.  I broke one years ago…my current one, all scratched and ugly, has probably been traveling around with me for at least 5 years.  Amortize the whole $6 cost of one of these things, and you’re talking pennies a trip.  How much more fun can you have for that little money?