It is not lost on me that I carry this concern for my wines
throughout their "lives", much as I still caution my children to
be careful at tasks they have long since mastered. When someone
picks up a case at my winery and we place it in the trunk of
their automobile, the lecture is automatically cued: "Don't
leave this in here too long and if you have to stop on the way
home, park in the shade".

But then I am the kind of person who, if going shopping for wine
and the day is hot, brings along an ice chest with a top that
closes tight and a few ice cubes in a plastic bag to keep the
contents from heating up.

I do not have any data about how hot it can get in the trunk of
a car parked in the sun on a warm day, but we both know it can
melt the heck out of a Hershey bar, don't we! Wine literally
cooks in that level of heat and if tasted later, has a dead, red
liquid but not wine, flavor.

I recently visited a friend's new home and he mentioned that he
thought some of the wine he had purchased from me was going bad.
After I removed the knife from my heart, we took a look and saw
that he had a fine, out-of-the-way-storage place for the wine - on
top of his refrigerator! I was amazed that any of my creations
had survived the heat and vibration there.

Heat is the enemy of fine wine. Keep it cool and alive.

About the author:
Paul Kreider, who made his first wine in 1975, is the owner and
winemaker of the Ross Valley Winery in San Anselmo, California.
Since 1987, with notable success, his small Marin County bonded
winery has specialized in transforming modest lots of unique
grapes into vineyard-designated wines, each with its own
individual character and particular personality. Check our
website at www.rossvalleywinery.com