Luxe Beat Magazine MARCH 2015 | Page 95

Wine & Spirits Chateaux Margaux or n in an that hi o any has only a handful of requests a year for such careful treatment of even the most expensive wines.” Unquote. Reefer in Burgundy Temperature controlled trucks and vans are mainly used for top Burgundy wine. Producers like o ain ai a on oth r will never allow their wine to be transported in standard trucks: merchants have no other choice but to comply. Top producers are fully aware that their reputation also depends on the type of trucks used. Reefer in Bordeaux Thin ar iff r nt in or a a th r i th n o iant t r th producer sells to the négociant and the négociant sells to traders and merchants. Wines are generally collected by merchants/ traders at the négociant warehouse in Bordeaux. The producers are generally not aware of the type of equipment used and cannot s top non-reefer shipment from happening. The négociant cannot interfere with his client shipping decision/ quality approach. temperature on wine is a matter of tasting skills. Provided that the wine has not been exposed to extreme temperature for days or week, the product will still be drinkable. In case of minor loss of quality from 5% to 25%, would a customer with average tasting skills noti th iff r n on a in h ha n r ta t or Wine temperature transparency Far from the lavish wine tasting th r i th o t ff ti an non-transparent world of wine shipping. Wine lovers/ collectors and investors paying 100% of a price should receive 100% of the quality they are paying for. It seems that exposing wine to ambient temperature during long transit is acceptable for most wine traders and merchants, it is therefore easy to see why temperature monitoring is not a priority. From a trader’s point of view, temperature transparency is more of a problem than a solution as the immediate impact of transparency will be the increase of shipping and storage cost, higher insurance cost and greater liability. Tasting skills Understanding the true impact of wine shipping or storage If low cost perishable can be found in your local shop there is a high probability that one day you will a or i i ry o yo r n Bordeaux at the correct shipping temperature too. Note: Author Gabriel Matagne represents Thermoveritas and uses the warehouse shown in the photo that belongs to Dartess. 95