Cooler is a good idea to transport wines by car from Eastern Washington

Q: I have a question about using your car to transport wine. My husband and I like to travel over to the Yakima area every so often to do some wine tasting and bring back a trunk full of wine. We usually go for 3 days. We tend to go when the weather is hot and wonder about keeping wines in the trunk when it is hot. Sometimes we bring the wine into our hotel room to keep it cool, but on the last day we drive around with the wine, in the heat. Sometimes when we open the wine in the months following our trip, it doesn't taste as good as in the tasting room and wonder if the problem might be heat-related.

A: You are right to be concerned about the potential damage to wine from sitting in a hot car. Even a few hours on a warm summer day can cook the wine if it's left unprotected. And if the temperatures are pushing 100 degrees outside, the interior of your car can be even warmer. If at all possible, I would suggest that you organize your day trips so that you can retrace your steps on the way back to your lodging. That way, you can ask the wineries you visit to hold your purchases until you are on your way home at the end of the day.

If you must take the wine immediately, it would be well worthwhile to purchase an inexpensive cooler and stock it with freezer paks. Keep the wines in it until you get back to the hotel. At the very least I always turn up the air conditioning to cool the car down and leave windows and sunroof cracked to allow for some air circulation while I'm parked. Cover the wines with some sort of insulating blanket to help them stay cool. And don't linger more than a half-hour without firing up the air conditioner!

Paul Gregutt answers questions weekly in the Wine section. He can be reached by e-mail at wine@seattletimes.com.