Travel Shock Question

[John M.]

I just picked up a bottle of Warre's Quinta da Cavadinha 1989 VP in Connecticut and drove home to New Jersey. Do I need to be concerned with Travel/bottle shock?....and if so how long do you suggest I wait to open it?

Thanks!!

[Glenn E.]

How bumpy was the ride?

I don't think that driving is that big of a deal, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to give it a day to settle back down. I think that travel also has less of an effect on younger Ports and/or tawnies - it didn't seem to affect the Casa de Santa Eufemia Special Reserve White that I drove down to LA from Seattle last week, and I made that particular trip in a smart car. Not exactly the smoothest ride!

[John M.]

Excellent--thanks. Something to have during the World Cup final!!

[Roy Hersh]

Travel shock with Ports, like any type of wine is totally unproven science. Some experts swear by it, others swear it doesn't exist. I find that when traveling, I am much more likely to enjoy a Colheita or Tawny (like Glenn) than a Vintage Port where the sediment winds up disturbed and the particles suspended in solution. It takes awhile for these to settle back down, best done by standing up the bottle for several days for a young VP to several weeks for a really old one. YMMV.

[John M.]

Saved by the Bell. Was about to decant this tomorrow to have during the Worlds Cup final---think I'll wait. I'm in no rush.

But just curious, since I have watched your youtube video on decanting through a strainer funnel plus cheesecloth, don't the filters catch all the sediment, so why would it matter if it was suspended or in the bottom?--it all gets caught by the filters--no?

[Roy Hersh]

Yes, you are 100% correct. However, that little understood and inexplicable phenomenon called "travel shock" (no relationship to the movie of the same clever name ) takes place when the sediment has been disrupted during transport, especially (seemingly) on airplanes or longer journeys and the wine -- for whatever reason -- shows "less well" than normal.

[Lars F]

Someone should set up an experiment. Get two identical bottles, and take one of them on a business trip for a few days, preferbly with both plane and car time. Bring home the bottle and open both of them at the same temperature - serve blind

-Lars

[Roy Hersh]

Lars,

Are you volunteering?

[Rob C.]

So presumably if you are proposing to take a bottle of port to a dinner party/offline tasting, the best way to avoid this problem is to double-decant at home prior to transport? (and then keep the port stoppered or in the fridge for a bit longer if that means that the decant time would otherwise be longer than under ideal circumstances).

[Roy Hersh]

He shoots and scores.

I have gotten away by doing that and after carefully removing the capsule and cork of course, put the bottle back together to look like it was never opened and taking it on short flights like down to SF and CO in the past. I've also done this with table wines where I was flying in for a same day dinner. Not that I am suggesting you ever try this because you stand the risk of your bottle being confiscated should it be found to have been compromised.