My wine blew up!

[simplicity]

It is hot in Houston.

This morning I bought two bottles of red wine. The clerk put a sleeve around one, set it beside the other one and placed them both in a paper bag.

I put the sack in the trunk of my car, cradling it in an old bedspread that I keep there. The sack didn't move.

When I got home but both bottles were broken, the sack was torn, the glass was thrown around the trunk, as was the wine.

So, I have two questions -

1) It was probably 76 Deg inside the liquor store and 110 Deg inside my trunk. Can this cause the wine bottles to explode?

2) I took out the floor mats and left the trunk open. The interior of my car smells like a bar that has not been cleaned for a month. What do I do?

Okay, this would be funny if it happened to someone else. Right now, I'm not a happy camper.

 

[Andy M.]

I wouldn't expect the bottles to break unless they were sparkling wines. One of the bottles may have been damaged and a little bumping around may have caused it to shatter and the shock of that broke the other one.

I would take everything out of the trunk including all the carpeting. It's usually removeable with either velcro or other type clips. Once you are down to metal. hose down the inside of the trunk (there's a drain plug in the spare tire well) and shampoo the carpets. Then dry them and put them back.

 

[Constance]

I would crawl in the trunk, close the lid and breath the fumes.

 

[quicksilver]

I would crawl in the trunk, close the lid and breath the fumes.

I was going to answer, but I can't stop laughing!!!!!!!!

(Yeh, sure Constance. I saw you out in that parking lot at lunch time, and I also saw you throw away that dirty straw! Who you kidding? You better hope you don't get pulled over anytime soon.)

BIG HELP WE ARE. The heck with the car. I'd be whining about the wine.

 

[babetoo]

what a mess, good luck getting the smell out. maybe you should have it cleaned professionally?

babe

 

[Maverick2272]

You can do what Andy suggested, or you can go to a good car wash hand detailing service and tell them what you need and they will do the same thing but you will pay for it.
I would take all the fabric out, shampoo it good, wash the inside good, drain it and dry it, and put it all back. Maybe do the rest of the fabrics while I was at it since the smell is all thru the car.

 

[simplicity]

I wouldn't expect the bottles to break unless they were sparkling wines. One of the bottles may have been damaged and a little bumping around may have caused it to shatter and the shock of that broke the other one.

I would take everything out of the trunk including all the carpeting. It's usually removeable with either velcro or other type clips. Once you are down to metal. hose down the inside of the trunk (there's a drain plug in the spare tire well) and shampoo the carpets. Then dry them and put them back.

Thanks Andy I did as you suggested, then left the carpets out to dry, the trunk open and the windows down overnight.

It may still need professional cleaning.

Constance and quicksilver - I would have bought each of you a case of straws if you were here yesterday . What a mess!

 

[ChefJune]

For future reference... on my Wine Tip of the Day calendar the other day, Karen MacNeil, author of The Wine Bible (and owner of Fife Vineyards in Napa)) suggests not only keeping a cooler in your trunk for wine and other perishables during the summer, but also when you put something in the cooler, adding a piece of blue ice to keep things cool for at least a while. and don't leave anything in there too long!

I feel your pain!

 

[ronjohn55]

To answer question #1... Yes. The heat can cause them to break. It's not just the temp from the store though, it's the temp it was at when bottled. It came a sealed vessel at that point. Usually with corks, they'll simply push out if the pressure becomes to great. With some of the synthetics they hold in better, and with screw tops there's nowhere for them to go. So the pressure builds until the container gives out and the glass breaks. As the contents were heating up, the pressure inside the bottle was building.... when it hit the failure point of the glass, it broke.

#2 For cleaning, clean the areas that got the wine on them. The rest of the car will just need to air out (Some Febreeze might help).

 

[GotGarlic]

If it still smells, you can try Febreeze. DH borrowed my car once to take a group of high school students on a field trip, and one girl spilled perfume on the cloth-upholstered back seat. Strong odors like that give me a headache, but a couple of sprayings with Febreeze took care of it. HTH.

 

[simplicity]

To answer question #1... Yes. The heat can cause them to break. It's not just the temp from the store though, it's the temp it was at when bottled. It came a sealed vessel at that point. Usually with corks, they'll simply push out if the pressure becomes to great. With some of the synthetics they hold in better, and with screw tops there's nowhere for them to go. So the pressure builds until the container gives out and the glass breaks. As the contents were heating up, the pressure inside the bottle was building.... when it hit the failure point of the glass, it broke.

#2 For cleaning, clean the areas that got the wine on them. The rest of the car will just need to air out (Some Febreeze might help).

That's interesting. I've transported wine in my trunk for years and never had this problem. Now I know better.

And yes, Chef June, I should keep a cooler in the trunk. Call it laziness. If I think there's a problem I keep the things in the A/C interior of the car. I didn't think wine was a problem - again - Now I know better.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

 

[KamilEvolution]

Woah! That's crazy, I just hope you get the messed cleaned up.

 

[Elf]

Try a couple drops of peppermint oil, that will cover up any odor problems. My neighbor had a child that would get car sick backing out of his driveway, He always kept a bottle in His car all the time for such emergencies.

 

[Bigjim68]

One point: If the trunk got hot enough to blow up the bottles, it probably got hot enough to damage the wine. I would not purchase wine if I had to leave it in a hot car for any length of time. Wine bottles are usually pretty tough, and I am surprised that they would break.