Have wine, will travel... hopefully

So I have to get my just-big-enough-to-be-an-issue (around 20 cases) wine collection from here to DC later this year. And because the gods hate me, it looks like we are going to be moving in June or thereabouts, not earlier. So I have to figure out how to get my wine across the country, because the way I was going to do it (yeah, yeah, I know, putting it in a truck with everything else we own is bad news but we are buying and remodeling a house and moving a lot of stuff and I am about to be P-O-O-R) is probably is a really bad idea given the heat. I was willing to risk the wine-with-everything-else move if the weather was cool, but in the heat, no way. So now I am looking at my options and hoping they don't break the bank.

So far I have these:

- Adventures in Wine. They are a complete unknown, but might be able to help. The guys at K&L told me that Marco (who used to work at K&L before he moved back East) used them when he moved. I have to give them a call and see if they offer anything (I am not sure if Marco used them for storage and that got him the ability to use them for moving, too).

- Western Carriers. Good: Probably cheaper than some other options, and they can store the wine on the other end if I need it. Bad: Your wine is in a truck for a while and even if the truck is air conditioned, certain wine forums have me leery of that since they convinced me that the driver is going to be a layabout who turns the truck off to nap and gamble in Las Vegas for hours on end while the wine cooks. I know this is not likely.

- Wine By Air International. Good: Ships by air, so it is fast. They come and pack your stuff into insulated carriers. Bad: Probably most expensive, and planes crash and all (I know, also not likely).

- I could leave it here in storage for a while and somehow come back and get it, but that seems like a bad idea and is not really dealing with the problem, just putting off dealing with it for a while.

I was looking into wine storage in DC, and well. Not a lot of options there. There is one place located "conveniently" north of Georgetown, which makes a big assumption about the people who own wine that is to be stored, but they are only open six days a week and they have plywood panels on the wine storage, something that just seems sketchy to me. They can store single cases, though, which is interesting. I think I can set up something in the basement that will be fine, but just in case I find out the basement goes to 85 in the summer (not out of the question in DC) it is good to know one's options.

If my wine and I make it to my next birthday intact, I am opening the best thing I can find and not feeling guilty about it at all.

Anyone here ever moved wine? What did you do? How did you do it? Why can't I collect thimbles or silver spoons with the states on them?

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[Brendan]

I am looking to remodel my house this year, I can't decide to do it myself or contract it out.

-Brendan