I left my wine in the attic

[ToddMa]

While bringing countless styrofoam wine boxes to the attic, I realized one of the boxes felt a little heavy. I opened it to find a .375l bottle of 2003 La Tour Blanche Sauternes. "Wow, that would've been a waste".

So I put it down and continued stacking boxes. I went up a few days later and . The bottle was sitting right next to the top of the stairwell in the attic. It had seepage but the cork was not protruding.

I chilled it overnight and popped the cork tonight. I may have a dead palate but this is really good stuff. It's viscuous and tastes like the best honey I've ever had with just a hint of bananas. There is no hint of maderization on the nose. It's far too young to have any developmental flavors but after a few days of 100+ degree heat, this wine is bullet proof.

Sorry Bam Bam, I had to post here since there was no designated wine board.

[Admin]

Sounds like you should consider yourself one lucky guy.

[Boo Boo]

Todd, in your opinion, when is it "too hot (degrees) and too long" for wine to be considered unsalvageable?

[JudiB]

Todd, it sounds like you may have discovered something here. I'll bet you most of the great discoveries of science were done randomly or by accident. In cuisine too. It's kinda tricky though... you surely could ruin a great bottle of wine that way.

I'm glad it worked out for you, though!

[ToddMa]

Todd, in your opinion, when is it "too hot (degrees) and too long" for wine to be considered unsalvageable?

Usually, anything over 90 degrees will cause the cork to protrude. If you leave it in your car during the summer, the wine will shoot out of the bottle. Ports and sweet wines are the most resistant to heat damage. I imagine the the residual sugar aided in preventing the wine from maderizing.

Any red or dry white wine would have been cooked.

As for unsalvageable, IT DEPENDS.

I've had Pinots from Katrina that are still drinking well and big Cabs that were cooked. The key is to drink the wine as soon as possible after exposure. The heat seems to set off a chain reaction of premature aging.

The above information is completely from personal experience and not obtained from scientific data or credentialed experts.

[Boo Boo]

Usually, anything over 90 degrees will cause the cork to protrude. If you leave it in your car during the summer, the wine will shoot out of the bottle. Ports and sweet wines are the most resistant to heat damage. I imagine the the residual sugar aided in preventing the wine from maderizing.

Any red or dry white wine would have been cooked.

As for unsalvageable, IT DEPENDS.

I've had Pinots from Katrina that are still drinking well and big Cabs that were cooked. The key is to drink the wine as soon as possible after exposure. The heat seems to set off a chain reaction of premature aging.

The above information is completely from personal experience and not obtained from scientific data or credentialed experts.

OK, got it.

Another related question has to do with buying wine and having to leave it in the car while taking care of other business. With the temperatures as of late, if I'm in the neighborhood of the local wine shop, buy the wine, then have to leave it in the car for a few hours inside a closed up car; how long is to long before the wine is affected?

[ToddMa]

About 15 minutes give or take 10 of them.

Don't do it. Your car gets up to 130 degrees really fast.

[jimbeaux]

I waded back to my house a week after Katrina. While gathering some clothes my brother peeked in the wine cooler and discovered the opened and re-corked bottle of red wine I'd been drinking the evening before evacuation. Feeling a bit celebratory because my house wasn't completely destroyed, he re-opened it and we each had a glass. It tasted fine. Of course, most of my wine is pretty cheap, so maybe we just couldn't taste any difference!