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Sultry weather can be hard on any traveler, and for wine it can be disastrous.
A high-tech shipping label now being used by some in the industry aims to warn customers if there's a chance they're getting cooked cabernet.
About the size of a sugar packet, the labels can be programmed for a range of temperatures and placed directly on the product or its packaging. A light flashes green if the product stays within specifications and yellow if it doesn't.
Information on exactly what temperatures the product reached and when can be downloaded via a portable reader into a computer spreadsheet. If there is a problem, the data show where it occurred, helpful in determining who's responsible.
Made by Boise, Idaho-based (1) PakSense Inc. and on the market for about two years, the temperature monitors had been primarily used by the food industry but lately have been finding a market in wine shipping as well, company spokeswoman Amy Childress said.
Temperature control is key for wine. Heat speeds up aging, which may sound like a good idea but results in diminished flavor. If the bottles get too hot the wine is "cooked," which means it may taste flat or be otherwise flawed.
A low-tech warning sign is if the cork has been pushed up out of the bottle, but that doesn't necessarily mean spoiled wine. On the other hand, a bottle may look fine but be spoiled.
Like many California wineries, Biale avoids shipping in hot months. It will ship overnight in summer, but that's become less popular with rising gas prices.
Biale is currently experimenting with the PakSense label to see if it will prove to be a summer solution, Silva said.
Another California winery started putting PakSense labels on its shipments this year, using a type of label that is sent back by distributors and downloaded at the winery to provide trip details.
"We actually have gotten a lot of good information," winery office manager Lou Pritchett said. ■AP
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