Wine storage,I just moved and my new place is upwards of 85 degrees since I have no a/c. I am planning on getting a wine storage cooler but is my red wine ruined already by being in this heat?
When is red wine ruined?
June 25th, 2010 · 6 Comments · Wine Storage Racks
Tags: red wine·wine storage
J // Jun 25, 2010 at 8:00 am
As a wine drinker and collector for many years, I found that wine is a bit more resilient than most people think.
While heat is wine’s greatest enemy, brief exposure to heat, or storing for a while in hotter-than-ideal temperature does not ruin the wine instantly. What that condition causes is to make the wine not able to be cellared for a long time (>3-4 years). However, if you are just keeping your wines for a few weeks or possibly few months, your wine will be fine.
A good wine storage temprature is about 50′s F. White wines likes cooler 50′s, while red wine can stand higher 50′s. However, if you really think about it, the wine that we purchase at grocery stores are usually kept in 70′s or even 80′s degrees – not the ideal 50′s that we always say. Even at a fine restaurant, the wine cellar are often used for guest dining, so the temperature there is not ideal either. Yet they keep very fine wines in those wine cellars of the restaurants.
My suggestion is the following:
1) Open a bottle of two of your wine to see if it might be ruined.
2) If the wine tastes fine, go get the wine fridge as soon as possible. If you need to (ie if the new place it too hot), you can keep your wine in regular refrigerator for a few days while you shop for the cooler. You can ge the cooler at your local Best Buy, Conn’s, Lowe’s, Home Depot, large Wine stores, etc. Or you can try http://www.iwawine.com
spider 1 // Jun 25, 2010 at 8:00 am
Heat is wine’s worst enemy: Even one hour in a hot car trunk can ruin a wine completely. An over heated wine will push the cork up and flow out under the foil capsule leaving sticky runs down the side of the bottle.
Overheated wine deteriorates very quickly but is usually still good for a short period after the event.
neff_ian // Jun 25, 2010 at 8:00 am
Heat is a very nasty enemy for wine. You won’t know for sure if they’re ruined or not until you try them. My best advice is to get that wine cooler and tag your bottles that have been exposed to heat and try them with your close friends to see if they’re good or not. Have "plan B" bottles just in case they’ve gone bad.
Make sure you don’t serve them in a special ocassion or a big party… that’s a bad moment for a ruined bottle.
loveyouoshinystar // Jun 25, 2010 at 8:00 am
White wine is served chilled, Reds are always room temp. Call your local beverage store that sells lots of wine’s.Ask them what to do until you get settled. Let me know how you make out.
stephen k // Jun 25, 2010 at 8:00 am
It could be damaged at this point. It might be better to at leat put it in the fridge than leave it in the hot apartment
Jerry L // Jun 25, 2010 at 8:00 am
Prior to serve red wine chill it to 60 degrees , it reacts with your 98 degree body temperature