How Wines Are Kept Before Purchase

[Bucko]

Drew, he swiped that flashlight so that he can read my tastings notes while he hunts for his teeth in the back seat.

Seriously, wine is not as fragile as some people would like for us to believe. Extremes of temperature and light can and will damage wine. C.S. Ough, Professor Emeritus at U.C. Davis, showed that heat is far more damaging to wine than cold. In fact, he showed that freezing a wine has little effect on its taste.

Heat is a different matter. His studies confirmed that temperatures of 40° centigrade (104° F) can ruin a wine in a matter of days. Prolonged storage of wines above 25° centigrade (77° F) can be detrimental.

Bright light can also be deleterious to wine, causing vegetal flavors to occur over time by one study. While harmless, excess light can also cause hazing of wine due to copper instability.

I have never seen a wine shop that keeps wines for prolonged periods above 77 degrees. The harm is done to wine before it arrives at the shop, or after it leaves the shop..........