# Bottle shock?



## Dugger (Mar 6, 2011)

My wife and I flew from Nova Scotia to Vancouver, BC last Wed and I brought 3 bottles of my wine with me ( checked baggage). I decided to open one this evening and I must say it was not good - tasted terrible. This is a nearly 2 year old South African Cab Sauv from a 2008 WinExpert LE kit that I have been drinking and is an excellent wine.
So I'm wondering, could it be suffering from bottle shock from being in the plane ( Halifax-Ottawa-Vancouver)? I've never flown my wine before so can't compare. Has anyone else experienced this? I recall the movie, "Bottle Shock" and them flying the wine to France early to give it time to recover from bottle shock. 
I'm reluctant to open the other 2 bottles so will let them rest for a couple more weeks.


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## djrockinsteve (Mar 7, 2011)

Let them rest a month after transporting them. They may have gone into bottle shock or wines will change tase over time and sometimes it's not a good taste but will change back later on.

If they tasted fine just recently then my guess is bottle shock. Pl;ace them in a cool dark place and let them relax.


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## Runningwolf (Mar 7, 2011)

I have not heard of the bottle shock from traveling but like you said the rest of the wine tasted fine. I guess the test will be when you open one of the other ones you brought compared to another one still at home. Please keep us posted on what you find. 

Thinking about this I still find it hard to believe it would be from the plane ride. My reasoning for this is that there is hundreds of bottles being sent every year for wine competitions. There is no mention of this happening.


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## Lurker (Mar 7, 2011)

Dugger, please be sure to keep us informed. I will be flying some of my wine to St. Pete from Phila. soon. It would be nice to know how you make out.


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## Airplanedoc (Mar 7, 2011)

You have to remember you bags are subjected to a unheated unpressureized compartment in the plane. While you are at a comfortable temp and a 10'000 pressure altitude, your bags are not. If your bag were laying against the side of the plane it could easily get your wine to below its freezing point. Assuming it was well packed (insulated) I doubt it froze but we are talking -40 F or more and low air pressure and a windchill on the outside skin of -140F.

Generally if something is marked parishable for shipment it would be placed on a semi heated/pressurized compartment, keeping it close to a refrigerator temp.


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## djrockinsteve (Mar 7, 2011)

I agree with Airplanedoc, who else better to ask Huh! When we think of airplane travel you think of a comfy seat yet down below wine would be subjected to many variables including luggage handlers who toss and jam stuff anywhere.

Definitely let us know.


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## Dugger (Mar 7, 2011)

Thanks for the replies. I hadn't thought of them freezing, but I don't think they did - no breakage and we also had some jam that didn't freeze. However, the temp changes and pressure changes may have done something. We're not allowed to fly homemade wine so had to smuggle it in checked bags. I guess the only way to know for sure is to open another bottle and see how it is. All 3 were drinking well so if a second one bombs out I'll know it is from the flight. 
I'm wondering if competition wine is stored differently for transporting?
Has anyone else flown their wine safely in checked baggage?


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## ibglowin (Mar 7, 2011)

You obviously did not see the movie "Bottle Shock"........ 

I am suprised you are allowed to post on this forum as I know I read in the bylaws somewhere that it is a prerequisite to posting along with the movie "Sideways"......

Your post count will now be deleted, thanks for playing! 

In the movie they sent the bottles from Cali to Paris a month early just so they could get over "Bottle Shock".



Runningwolf said:


> I have not heard of the bottle shock from traveling....


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## Airplanedoc (Mar 7, 2011)

Generally anything marked perishable, liquid, etc. would be flown in a heated therefore pressurized compartment, same place where your pet would be put. If your airlines are like ours you pay a premium to use this space, just like you do to take your pet. (The heat on a airliner is simply compressed air from a "bleed valve" from one of the engines before fuel is addeed and burned.)

Next time you fly, if you have a window seat, and are near a partition in the plastic sidweall many times you can see ice/frost build up underneath it on the inside surface of the planes skin.

Anything else you don't really want to know fire away.


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## ibglowin (Mar 7, 2011)

Seems to me that I read somewhere that all cargo holds are pressured to some level (~8000ft) but may or may not be heated unless they are carrying live animals.


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## JordanPond (Mar 7, 2011)

ibglowin said:


> I am suprised you are allowed to post on this forum as I know I read in the bylaws somewhere that it is a prerequisite to posting along with the movie "Sideways"......
> 
> Your post count will now be deleted, thanks for playing!
> 
> In the movie they sent the bottles from Cali to Paris a month early just so they could get over "Bottle Shock".



Oh Crap! I better order those from NetFlix.


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## Airplanedoc (Mar 7, 2011)

> Seems to me that I read somewhere that all cargo holds are pressured to some level (~8000ft) but may or may not be heated unless they are carrying live animals.



Not always, your bags could be in a area outside of the pressure bulkhead. They could also be located directly over the pressure dump valve, near landing gear wells etc.


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## djrockinsteve (Mar 7, 2011)

They say it is safer to fly than it is to drive. However when my engine falls out of my truck I don't plumet 10,000 feet, I simply pull over.

I know off topic but I couldn't resist!


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## Airplanedoc (Mar 7, 2011)

But the other engine is guaranteed to get you all the way to the scene of the crash, at least 20 min before the first ambulance


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## Runningwolf (Mar 7, 2011)

Airplanedoc said:


> But the other engine is guaranteed to get you all the way to the scene of the crash, at least 20 min before the first ambulance


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## AlFulchino (Mar 7, 2011)

i have seen *travel* wreak havoc with wines....it can be hit or miss because as mentioned altitudes and pressures and most notably temperature and shaking can really mess things up....the easiest thing to remember when someone says travel doesnt do anything to the wine is to ask them why they store their wines in a temp controlled and humidity controlled environment....if you have a time limit then you gotta pop it...if not and you have extended stay then just wait a couple weeks minimum

if your in a contest and have lead time, then by all means ship it early...other than that its all a risk.....heck if you are into self abuse send the same wine to two contests and get a gold medal in one  and your wine dropped in a spit bucket in another i always laugh when someone says i won this or that...because what is always left unsaid is whether or not they also entered the same wine in another competition and didnt win any medals....they never report that and it may be GREAT wine.....

by the way....Sideways was mentioned.....just my opinion.....a pathetic movie....wont say more than that......my wine movie list is short and i am sure i can be showed some other good ones that i dont know about...but i think movies like Bottle Shock ( terrible acting but great story), A Walk in the Clouds and A Good Year show the heart and soul of what farming, wine, family etc can mean. A customer last yr visited the winery and said i had to see Bottle Shock and after leaving the winery went home and brought me their copy of the movie.....one night we settled in w some wine and things for an evening of a wine themed movie....not long into it, i was wondering what the fuss about this movie had been....loser movie....if its criteria to be a poster here  then i vote for a change in the rules


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## winemaker_3352 (Mar 7, 2011)

I thought Bottle Shock was a pretty good movie. But I agree with Al on A Walk in the Clouds and A Good Year - those are great movies as well - i actually own all 3.


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## Runningwolf (Mar 7, 2011)

AlFulchino said:


> if your in a contest and have lead time, then by all means ship it early...other than that its all a risk.....heck if you are into self abuse send the same wine to two contests and get a gold medal in one  and your wine dropped in a spit bucket in another i always laugh when someone says i won this or that...because what is always left unsaid is whether or not they also entered the same wine in another competition and didnt win any medals....they never report that and it may be GREAT wine.....



Oh Father Al, I thought our conversations were so confidential. I am one of those who entered a wine on the west coast that won a gold medal. The same wine was entered on the east coast several months later. Needless to say it went in the very spit bucket you mentioned. I was waiting to write about this but you brought up an opportunity to report an on going experience of. You see I again entered the same two wines in one more contest. I'll report back when I hear the results.


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## Dugger (Mar 7, 2011)

AlFulchino said:


> i....if you have a time limit then you gotta pop it...if not and you have extended stay then just wait a couple weeks minimum



Actually I do have time ( 3 months) so I think I'll hold off in that case. 
Sorry, Lurker, I guess I won't sacrifice another one, but I would say the travel did affect my wine, so be careful of yours.
Are you permitted to fly homemade wine in US? Just curious. Wines here must have ABV marked and a barcode on the bottle.


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## Airplanedoc (Mar 7, 2011)

> Wines here must have ABV marked and a barcode on the bottle.



Sounds to me like you just need a fancier label

We are barely allowed to wear clothes and certainly no dignity on a airplane these days. No way you could carry-on I suppose you could check it. I would just ship it via Fed-Ex


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## Dugger (Apr 30, 2011)

Bump
Back home now from Vancouver and happened to open another bottle of S.A. Cab Sauv and I was surprised to find that it was not good; it tasted the same as the one opened in Van. that I thought was affected by the plane flight. Now I'm thinking the wine has just entered a dumb phase. Sure hope so, I still have almost 2 cases of it ( 2008 LE kit).
Just thought I'd let you know.
Lurker - did you fly your wine with no problems?


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## Lurker (Apr 30, 2011)

?


Dugger said:


> Bump
> Back home now from Vancouver and happened to open another bottle of S.A. Cab Sauv and I was surprised to find that it was not good; it tasted the same as the one opened in Van. that I thought was affected by the plane flight. Now I'm thinking the wine has just entered a dumb phase. Sure hope so, I still have almost 2 cases of it ( 2008 LE kit).
> Just thought I'd let you know.
> Lurker - did you fly your wine with no problems?


I did not fly my wines.


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## Dugger (Apr 30, 2011)

Lurker said:


> _*?* ... _I did not fly my wines.



Sorry, you had said you were going to fly some wine from St Petes to Phila


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## Banjoe (Apr 30, 2011)

*Simple answer*

I suspect that the ground crew saw a good thing in your fine wine and, after consuming the good stuff, simply refilled the bottles with local plonk. On the next trip, slip the bottles into your carry-on bag (along with a couple of suitable glasses).


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## lloyd (Apr 30, 2011)

Gotta say I have seen them both I have sideways in my collection Had friends from collage like that. Blood into wine is another interesting. movie sorry off topic!


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## Lurker (May 1, 2011)

Dugger said:


> Sorry, you had said you were going to fly some wine from St Petes to Phila



Sorry for the quick reply from my phone. This is the first time on the puter in a while. Yes, I was going to bring the wine with me to Tampa but thought better of it. I certainly hope that Banjoe is not right. In the future I may still do it. I have some Amarone that my grand son likes and if I get there before he gets here, I'll bring it down and let you know how it worked out.


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## robie (May 2, 2011)

I would be tempted to open (only) one of the other bottles you brought.
Maybe that one bottle had some other issue. Cork Taint, some other bacteria, who knows.
Now if another bottle suffers the same fate, maybe it is bottle shock.

"Bottle Shock" has to be my favorite movie, although not everything in the movie was factual. Certainly the wine being from Napa and the results of the competition, were definitely factual.

Anyone out there who hasn't seen the movie should; it's a real treat.


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## ibglowin (May 2, 2011)

The soundtrack (Mark Adler) to that movie was great! 

Sprinkle in some Doobie Bros, Allman Bros, Foghat, America, Bad Co. I found it on Amazon as a MP3 download for pretty cheap price.


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## robie (May 2, 2011)

Yep, great music.
I haven't purchased either the movie or the sound track, since I get the movie through Netflix instant queue. If I could not get it so easily, I'd sure buy the movie.


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## ibglowin (May 2, 2011)

There is actually a Blu Ray version out in Europe.


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