The summer holidays are an opportunity to visit wine states and buy wines directly from the vineyard… But as the sun beats down, and those bottles stack up in the boot of your car, you might ask yourselves, is there a better way to do this?
A catastrophe waiting to happen
It is difficult to resist temptation… On the way to the Côte d’Azur, your other half has accepted to stop briefly in Burgundy. Two vineyard visits tops, not a single more! And there, inevitably, after having tasted two or three delicious wines, you cannot resist, and you buy a case of 6 bottles at each of your vinous stops. You put them in your car boot, just between the inflatable toys and the inflatable boat. And off you go for another 600km under a blazing sun, with, of course, a few hours stuck in the traffic jams of the Rhone Valley. It’ll be the same story on the way back, with another one-and-a-half hour stop to the south of Valence, where you’re out of luck: there are no parking spaces left in the shade…
If in a few years, the Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru bought that fateful summer is a bit disappointing, don’t be surprised!
This is, of course, a rather caricatural scenario. Yet it can be a recurring situation during the summer months.
What are the risks of transporting wine in sumer?
We must keep in mind the fact that wine is a living product and that, even without respecting the recommended maximum temperature of 16°C for each bottle, it is certainly not recommended to leave them for several hours at 40°C. Due to the heat, the cork could dry out, causing the bottle to leak or the wine to oxidise. And, don’t forget wine’s other enemy … light! This tends to accelerate ageing and mar the tannins. The wines can then seem reduced, lacking their fruity aromas or their colour upon opening.
On the other hand, when driving for two or three hours, even when the weather is very hot, there is no potential problem, especially if it is a box of 12 bottles. The coolness of the cellar from which these bottles probably came combined with the relative insulation of the cardboard, protect the wine. If your car isn’t full and has good air conditioning, you can also place them behind a seat.
7 rules to keep in mind when transporting wine
So, what should you do when confronted with a sudden urge to buy wine in temperatures upwards of 35°C?
- Cool your car down before putting the wines in.
- Park as much as possible in the shade
- Put the bottles in an ice box or cool bag. Or, if you don’t have these, use the air conditioning by placing the bottles as close as possible to an air vent, for example at the passenger’s feet
- Keep bottles upright if possible to avoid too much movement
- Reduce the amount of light that comes in contact with bottles by covering them
- Aim to have you wine-shopping stop around two to three hours’drive from your destination or have them delivered by the winemaker. It will cost you a little more, but at least the wines won’t have to travel in high temperatures…
- But the best solution, to avoid all these headaches, is, you’ve guessed it, to buy your wines on iDealwine! Especially given that wine in our fixed-price sales are sold at estate price. The bottles are stored in our air-conditioned warehouse, and you can choose whether to have them delivered at the date of your choosing or to pick them up directly yourself. If the wines were destined for your summer holiday enjoyment, (like a selection of good rosés for example!), you can even have them delivered directly to your holiday destination! Simply change the delivery address in your account. Packaged in polystyrene cases, the bottles are protected from high temperature and any bumps along the way. Because your bottles deserve only the best.
Also on the iDealwine blog:
Summer at iDealwine: 5 things we do to take care of your wines
