Please re-direct me if this topic has been covered.
With enormous thanks to folks on this board, in a few weeks I should be receiving some middle-aged VPs, 1983s and 1985s. Should ports be given time to settle, say 2-8 weeks? Or can I open with confidence when they arrive? In short, what has been your experience/what would you do?
Thanks a million experts!!
Do Ports suffer bottle shock after shipping?
Moderators: Glenn E., Roy Hersh, Andy Velebil
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David Sweet
- Posts: 57
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- Location: Illinois
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jon bricken
- Posts: 64
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- Location: ridgefield, Connecticut, United States of America - USA
David, welcome to our forum.
There are several factors which effect wine as it is stored or shipped.
Light, temp, humitity and vibration are the four major influences.
After receiving wine, if it is shipped to you or you have picked it up from a local merchant, vibration has disturbed the wine.
My rule is to always allow a minimum of a couple of weeks for a wine to settle before opening, usually I wait longer.
I have noticed that when I bring a wine to someones house for dinner the trip effects the wine negatively.
When transporting wines to our summer home I do it months in advance so that I have confidence to open any one I want at any time.
All of those precautions still do not help corked bottles.
Hope this helps.
There are several factors which effect wine as it is stored or shipped.
Light, temp, humitity and vibration are the four major influences.
After receiving wine, if it is shipped to you or you have picked it up from a local merchant, vibration has disturbed the wine.
My rule is to always allow a minimum of a couple of weeks for a wine to settle before opening, usually I wait longer.
I have noticed that when I bring a wine to someones house for dinner the trip effects the wine negatively.
When transporting wines to our summer home I do it months in advance so that I have confidence to open any one I want at any time.
All of those precautions still do not help corked bottles.
Hope this helps.
There is no hard and fast scientific proof of whether or not bottles suffer from "travel shock" which is really what we are talking about. Of course with Vintage Port we may be dealing with a wine of just about any age and the fact that sediment will be disturbed, enters into the equation.
To be safe, I think it prudent to wait for a month or two (IF possible) with an ancient bottle of VP. The younger the VP, the less time the bottle will need to recover. I have certainly taken 3-4 decade old VPs on an airplane for tastings that were going to be a few days out and they've shown well but who knows if they'd have even been better if not jostled. OTOH, I don't take chances with really old bottles and always ship them way ahead of time.
Rui's suggestion of decanting the wines ahead, in order to minimize travel shock seems to make sense but I'd err on the side of caution. Unless we are talking about a couple of hours before drinking the bottle, taken on a train, plane or automobile -- I would see no real advantage to decanting ahead say 3 or 4 days (unless it is an infant of a VP). The downside would be that when decanting you are actually incorporating lots of oxygen into the Port and causing it to soften and over the course of even a few days ... it will lose its freshness.
David, your mileage may vary ... as I know some folks like to decant their Vintage Port for a number of days. I appreciate you posting this interesting topic and welcome you back to the Forum.
(Edited to correct spelling error)
To be safe, I think it prudent to wait for a month or two (IF possible) with an ancient bottle of VP. The younger the VP, the less time the bottle will need to recover. I have certainly taken 3-4 decade old VPs on an airplane for tastings that were going to be a few days out and they've shown well but who knows if they'd have even been better if not jostled. OTOH, I don't take chances with really old bottles and always ship them way ahead of time.
Rui's suggestion of decanting the wines ahead, in order to minimize travel shock seems to make sense but I'd err on the side of caution. Unless we are talking about a couple of hours before drinking the bottle, taken on a train, plane or automobile -- I would see no real advantage to decanting ahead say 3 or 4 days (unless it is an infant of a VP). The downside would be that when decanting you are actually incorporating lots of oxygen into the Port and causing it to soften and over the course of even a few days ... it will lose its freshness.
David, your mileage may vary ... as I know some folks like to decant their Vintage Port for a number of days. I appreciate you posting this interesting topic and welcome you back to the Forum.
(Edited to correct spelling error)
Last edited by Roy Hersh on Sun May 21, 2006 2:34 am, edited 2 times in total.
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
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Tom Archer
- Posts: 2790
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- Location: Near Saffron Walden, England
I agree with Roy - it's very existence is unproven.
However, whilst I was at first sceptical, I am tending to the view that it may be fact rather than fiction - to some extent at least.
I don't think anyone should get too stressed about these things though - the worst thing one can do when enjoying a wine is to worry about it - for whatever reason!
Tom
However, whilst I was at first sceptical, I am tending to the view that it may be fact rather than fiction - to some extent at least.
I don't think anyone should get too stressed about these things though - the worst thing one can do when enjoying a wine is to worry about it - for whatever reason!
Tom
I guess that to some extent it also depends on your decanting style.
At the very least, if you move a bottle of any significant age then you will shake up the sediment. If you decant the wine by filtering it - as per the patented Roy Hersh method - then you should not suffer any ill effects if you are decanting a wine that has its sediment in suspension, rather than as a sludge at the bottom of the bottle.
On the other hand, if you decant like I do where you pour the wine off and leave the sludge at the bottom of the bottle then you obviously need to allow the wine to settle before decanting it. I find that allowing a newly delivered / purchased bottle to stand and settle undisturbed for a week is sufficient.
If I'm taking wine to a tasting or to someone else's house for dinner, I will decant before I go. Depending on the wine and the distance to travel, I will open and decant the wine anything from 1 day before consumption to 3 hours before consumption, normally I will double decant it back into the bottle.
Alex
At the very least, if you move a bottle of any significant age then you will shake up the sediment. If you decant the wine by filtering it - as per the patented Roy Hersh method - then you should not suffer any ill effects if you are decanting a wine that has its sediment in suspension, rather than as a sludge at the bottom of the bottle.
On the other hand, if you decant like I do where you pour the wine off and leave the sludge at the bottom of the bottle then you obviously need to allow the wine to settle before decanting it. I find that allowing a newly delivered / purchased bottle to stand and settle undisturbed for a week is sufficient.
If I'm taking wine to a tasting or to someone else's house for dinner, I will decant before I go. Depending on the wine and the distance to travel, I will open and decant the wine anything from 1 day before consumption to 3 hours before consumption, normally I will double decant it back into the bottle.
Alex