While leading a Bret’s Table Culinary Tour through France our group stopped at a small Provençal winery. The wines were memorable, but so was the glass. Not too tall. No thick, factory rim. It felt right in my hand in a way most mass-produced wine glasses never do.
I wrapped it in a bandana and slipped it into my carry-on for the flight home. Of course my bag also held a slice of pâté en croûte and a crottin de chèvre because why not, you’re traveling from France! When dinner service came around mid-flight, drinking wine from a plastic cup felt like a crime. Out came my glass along with the pâté and cheese!
That wine glass became a regular travel companion. Wrapped in a bandana, it traveled back and forth across the pond, used on airplanes and in hotel rooms where the only options are often paper or plastic. Eventually, reality set in. One careless unzip or under-the-seat kick and I could be staring into a bag full of glass shards.
I searched everywhere for a single wine glass carrier. Plenty existed for two glasses, or carriers for a bottle with a glass, but nothing that was low-profile, packable, plastic-free, and sturdy enough to actually protect the glass. Camera lens cases came close, but never quite right. Too tall. Too narrow. Too bulky. Frustration won. So, I set out to make my own.
Prototypes began with stiff paper, graduated to cardboard, and evolved through months of trial, error, and more leather-crafting videos than I care to admit. I wanted something durable, elegant, and biodegradable. No plastic. No excess. Just thoughtful protection for a single wine glass that I now use when traveling, going on picnics, and now I even take to wine tastings.
After months and countless iterations, Bret’s Table: “Travel with Glass” is here and for sale. Each carrier is hand-crafted in leather, hand-punched, and hand-sewn by me. It includes the same style wine glass that is shown. Good wine after all, deserves a proper wine glass, even at 35,000 feet. Hey, even mediocre wine tastes better in glass. Cost: $299.00 USD plus Tax, S & H.
Impress your friends and travel companions. You can fly coach and still be bougie. Flight attendants definitely love them. It’s one less plastic cup they have to discard!
