The summertime is probably the most popular time to travel (outside of the holidays, perhaps) and while we think there is nothing better than spending a beautiful day in wine country to sip, tour and dine, we want to warn you about one peril of summer winery visits: leaving your wine in the car!
It’s happened before: a guest visits and falls in love with a wine so they purchase a bottle (or 12). They have other wineries to visit (after all it’s a gorgeous, sunny 78 degrees outside), so they leave their wine in the trunk while they continue their visit of wine country. They go home, unpack their wine and open a bottle two days later to serve with dinner. They take a sip…and the wine has gone bad.
Just a few hours in a hot car can turn a wine undrinkable. Why? Heat causes wine to age extremely quickly thus causing deterioration. It may have been a pleasant 78 degrees outside, but in the car where you kept your wine, the temp turned to 100 + degrees in less than 30 minutes. Considering the ideal temperature to store wine is 58-60 degrees, you can see how detrimental this scenario could be.
So, what’s the solution? Don’t go wine tasting in the summer? Of course not! If you’re planning on spending the day in wine country, bring along a cooler and some ice packs. It doesn’t have to be fancy, it just has to be large enough to fit your wine.
Once home, storing your wine is also pretty simple if you remember two things: keep it cool, keep it dark. A wine refrigerator works great and you can find them in every size, shape and price point. A cool basement or closet also works well.
–What’s your favorite time of year to go wine tasting?
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