Do NOT Leave Wine in a Car in the Summer! Please!!

July 09, 2012

Gentle Reader, Yr Mst Hmbl & Obdt Svt has written on this subject before, but with the entire country in a heat wave this summer, it must be repeated.

Do NOT leave your wine in a car for any length of time on a warm, much less hot day!

It is no secret that even on a "warm" day of only 80 degrees out, a car parked in the sun will reach an inside temperature of 110 degrees in less than 20 minutes.  Up the outside temperature to 100, and the inside of the car will be 140 degrees! For comparison, a medium rare steak is served at 145!

Wine does not like the heat. Bad things happen to wine when the wine warms up to more than say, 80-85. The fruit flavors degrade, and the acids become more pronounced.  Take the wine over 100, and it literally will cook. The result is a "stewed" flavor, with not very pleasant tastes, and a funky, cooked grape nose.

It won't take long for the damage to occur either. Once that bottle hits 100, there is nothing you can do to stop it. So, please, please please...Treat your bottle of wine like it was a carton of milk. You wouldn't leave milk in the car when its 100 degrees out, right? Of course not. You certainly wouldn't leave a dog in the car either!

Respect your wine. Take it right home, or if you must leave it in a hot car, then at least get an insulated cooler and ice packs to keep it safe and happy.

Have a great Summer and keep you and your wines cool!

Cheers

Rob Moshein, Austin Wine Guy