Shipping, Heat, and durablity

[Andy Velebil]

Since everyone knows shipping wines in the heat is a no-no, how about Port. Seems a lot of retailers have told me that Port is more durable and can handle higher temps during shipping better than regular wines. Curious as to what you all think.

BTW, this came about as I sit waiting for my Port delievery to arrive that was shipped without my permisson. Normally not a problem in November, but considering the heat wave we've had (it was 93-95 the past 2 days and 75-80 today) I am not to happy about my Port sitting in the back of a truck all day today. :x

[Roy Hersh]

Seems a lot of retailers have told me that Port is more durable and can handle higher temps during shipping better than regular wines.

Are you sure they were not talking about Madeira?
I have heard the same nonsense for years. Yeah, sure Port is indestructible and temperatures have no effect. :twisted: Of course due to fortification it is SLIGHTLY less prone to temperature fluctuations that don't vary much or for any sort of longer durations. But "cooked" is cooked and will permanently effect a wine, if per se, the VP sits in the back of a 90+ degree truck for hours on end. If they were packed at a cool temperature and put into styro, the protection would be helpful and the wine or Port might be spared if it was not for more than a few hours. If the real question is about durability, Port is a bit better than most wines that are not fortified and a tad more forgiving for the long haul when it comes to minor temperature fluctuations.

BTW, this came about as I sit waiting for my Port delievery to arrive that was shipped without my permisson. Normally not a problem in November, but considering the heat wave we've had (it was 93-95 the past 2 days and 75-80 today) I am not to happy about my Port sitting in the back of a truck all day today.

Andy, I suggest that you immediately call the retailer and say that you would like other bottles and will not accept these that were shipped in terrible weather conditions without your knowledge or permission.

[Andy Velebil]

Well, the wines arrived and upon inspection they and the box was cold to the touch. No signs of any trouble. I checked the Fedex tracking info and luckily they were shipped from back east where it is very very cold, put on a plane to California yesterday, and delivered to me today. Luckily, it only got to about 75 derees in my area, so everything should be fine. WHEW!!!

I let the retailer to make a note in my account to call me first in the future.

[Jay Woodruff]

Sounds like you were lucky in this case.

In any case, even with Madeira, there is the possibility that though no damage may be done to the wine, heat expansion could certainly cause some leaking. That is one reason why I do not have even Madeira shipped in warmer months.

Jay.