Storing or transporting wine in the trunk of a car can have fatal consequences. In the worst case, the wine spoils within a short time.

Many people buy their wine together with the weekly groceries or in a wine store. During the drive home, the bottles are then usually in the trunk.

Maybe you stop in between to do another errand - now it may be dangerous for the wine.

Even at an outside temperature of 20 degrees, the interior temperature in the car or trunk rises to 24 degrees within five minutes in bright sunshine. After one hour, the temperature in the car is already 46 degrees.

For wines, the 70-degree fahrenheit mark is a dangerous threshold. If a wine is kept in the car or at home for a longer period of time at such a temperature or higher, the taste of the wine will change for the worse.

At temperatures of 78 degrees fahrenheit and above, which can be quickly reached in the trunk, the deterioration process takes only a few minutes. Wines with heat damage will taste unpleasantly sour and jammy, similar to plums from a can. Heat can also damage the seal of the bottle and cause oxidation problems. Such wines are just suitable for cooking.

Treat wine in the car like glacé.

If you don't have a station wagon, better put your wine in the back seat and make sure the air conditioning cools the interior sufficiently. Or if you are transporting wine on cool, rainy days, you can leave it in the trunk for a while.

By the way, wines are not only sensitive to heat, but also to light. UV light can cause chemical reactions, which can have a negative effect on the taste of the wine. This is also the reason why the vast majority of wine bottles are made of green or brown glass.