Wine Cellar Crash

[eat2much]

The other night I went to the basement to pick out a bottle of wine for dinner. Immediately after opening the door of my wine cooler I noticed that the air was noticeably warmer than the usual 56 degrees. I looked at the digital display on the cooling unit and was shocked to see it alternate between AL (which I guess is short for alarm) and 78 degrees. Needless to say the first thing I did was unplug the unit and prop the door open as the ambient room temperature is somewhere around 68 degrees.

I spoke with the manufacturer yesterday and ordered a new cooling unit which should arrive this week. I am not certain how long the unit was out of order (no more than a few days) and am wondering if there was any significant damage done to the wine. I did notice that a magnum of CdP which was on the top shelf has cracks in the wax seal. One or two bottles had a tiny bit of "gunk" under the foil (but this could have been present before the breakdown).

Bottom line, do I relax or freak out?

One final note which I should post as a warning. A few months ago I purchased a light for the wine cellar which the store informed me could be left on 24/7 as it would not add any significant heat. Suffice it to say that I was misinformed. While I cannot prove that the low heat from the lightsource was what killed the cooling unit, it most certainly drove up the temperature once the unit died.

[Craig Camp]

78 is warm no doubt about it. Other than the cracks in the CdP check for bottles leaking slightly at the cork? It would be more than a little gunk if the wine is heat damaged. If most are not oozing wine you probably got off with minimal damage. The critical issues would be the time exposed and the speed of the change. Very difficult to say - all you can do is taste.

Good luck.

[jackal10]

IMHO a few days won't affect the wine.

It would be worse if it cycled continously and quickly (say every 15 mins) between 56 and 78, mostly through agitation, but you won't notice the effect of a steady temperature. At worse may make the wine mature a day or so earlier, but if you can tell that over the period a wine ages, then you are bluffing.

While the cellar is hot you will need to chill the whites before serving, instead of having them at cellar temperature

Of course you worry about the dramatic effect. Ship the lot to me and I'll taste them all for you..

[GordonCooks]

Check some of the bottle tops to see if the cork has raised above the neck (check an older bottle, 10 yrs of so). You could probably check the top through the foil with your thumb. A decent sign of how warm the bottle got.

[eat2much]

I don't think the unit did any cycles but rather simply ceased cooling and circulated the ambient air.

I did open up a bottle of Gaillard St.-Joseph Clos de Cuminaille 1999 which was still tasty (although bit young and way too warm).

[Robin Meredith]

Jackal is right on target - this is almost certainly nothing to worry about. Unless you purchased all of your wines directly from the winery and carted them home yourself under carefully monitored conditions, they probably were exposed to worse conditions before you acquired them.

The bigger question might be why the unit failed. As I've said before, these things are notoriously unreliable, but there are specific circumstances surrounding the installation that can lead to failure. I've been having some problems in my cellar, and I'm starting to wonder if my vapor barrier might be inadequate, and if that might be accelerating the failure of the cooling units (my room might also be a bit too big for the cooling unit, or the layout/airflow might be suboptimal).

Good luck! I continue to dream of a passive cellar where I don't have to mess with these things...

[eat2much]

My theory as to why it blew in the first place is that the blame goes to the new light fixture. I have noticed that at several times over the last month or 2 that the temperature indicator would read something like 52 or 53 degrees. In fact I called the manufacturer and was told that the lower temp was part of a normal cycle and was within tolerance. In retrospect however I have to wonder whether the cooling unit wasn't trying to compensate for the heat given out by the lightsource. Perhaps the overwork lead to the failure.

[carpet bagger]

I agree with most above. I do have a couple of questions. How old is the unit? How many bottles total do you store? What are the surroundings that the unit is in? What temperature are the surroundings kept at? The outside temperature may have also contributed to the increase in temperature once the unit failed. Depending on the size of your collection and the size of the unit tiself, you should consider having two air units. The second could be set to kick in only when the temperature reaches a certain level. Like it has been said I would not worry too much. Just drink and enjoy.

[Beachfan]

My worst wine nightmare.

[ivan]

As Mr. Camp pointed out, barring very high or very low temperatures, the rapidity of the swings is more significant than the actual range. But unless you hand-carried each bottle from the winery yourself, you really don't know what they've been subjected to prior to purchase. Of course, if a great majority of the bottles in your cellar prove to be bad, then we'll all know that 78 degrees is an intollerable extreme. I would be happy to assist you in making a bottle-by-bottle judgement.

[viejo majadero]

An important issue is time. Without going into too much science, the wine is a mass. The mass retains it's temperature longer than the air around it.

So, your room may be 78 degrees but your wine may have only increased 5 or ten degrees. But, there is a more positive note that needs to added. While the circumstances you described may not put the wine in the "perfect" environment, wine is not as fragile as most believe.

As to your cause theory. Why would you need to have a light on in an empty room? Generally speaking light is not a friend to wine.

Good luck, I would relax and enjoy

[eat2much]

To briefly respond to all the above points....

The unit is almost 3 years old. The cellar is a free standing "Vintage keeper" with a capacity of 220 bottles. I would say that I have just under 180 bottles so the unit was not jam packed. I must admit that while the unit was not flush with the surrounding walls to enable proper air circulation, it was placed in such a way that I could not clean the air intake grill on the back of the unit as per manufacturers instructions. The light was left on due in part to my believing that it would not hurt the wine or the cellar. I must admit though that laziness and vanity also come into play. I never got around to putting a switch on the power cord and the low "warm" light made the bottles look "sexy".

Oh well, live and learn! The new cooling unit is due to arrive today and I am trying to figure out if I have a better place to put the unit for better access to the rear panel.

And for all you helpful souls who have so selflessly volunteered to help me test the wine, you have helped me figure out what the hell to do with that magnum of Sauternes!

[raspoutine]

And for all you helpful souls who have so selflessly volunteered to help me test the wine, you have helped me figure out what the hell to do with that magnum of Sauternes!

GREAT! When can we come over?

[carpet bagger]

In case it may apply to the space you have. If your unit is in a corner put it across the corner, thus allowing it to breath. I'm surprised that it was not still under some kind of warranty. Set the light up in such a way that it can be turned on when you have your friends over and turn it off when they leave. If the light is on for an extended period of time then rotate the wines in immediate contact with the heat. Otherwise just drink your wines and enjoy them because you wont hurt them before you change your taste in wines.