When summer rolls around, everyone gets excited. The sun shines late into the evening, people flock to the beach to relax in the sun, and families spend time going on vacations together. On the other hand, if you need to ship beer, wine, and other forms of alcohol, the hot temperatures could be your worst enemy. If you have opened the door to a car that has been sitting in the sun for several hours, you know what this is like. Now, imagine your beer or wine sitting in an enclosed trailer, which can be comparable to an oven. As such, it is very important that you find the right LTL shipping company to handle your beer, wine, and liquor shipping needs; otherwise, your freight may be destroyed.
Wine
Most wine should be kept cool and safe during the transport process, making security and temperature primary concerns when shipping these products. Consider placing Styrofoam around the bottles and protect them with pulp dividers as well bubble wrap and packing peanuts as an extra precaution. It is also important to keep the wine between 55 and 65 degrees F with a humidity of 70 percent.
Why?
These precautions are important for several reasons. First, added safety measures are necessary due to the fragileness of the wine bottles and also because of being deemed high risk and sought after products. Furthermore, temperature-controlled shipping is critical because this prevents the corks from drying out. If the cork dries out, this leads to rapid oxidation, ruining the wine. If the wine spoils, the shipment could be rejected, leading to serious financial consequences.
Lazenne gives a closer look at how summer weather conditions affect wine:
26°C / 80°F: Your wine is getting hot. The heat causes it to expand upwards. Sometimes causing liquid to seep around the cork, and / or pushing that cork out of the bottle and breaking the seal. That compromised cork also results in oxidation.
30° C / 86°F: After 18 hours at this temperature your wine loses its brightness, the color changes to a brown hue, the sulfur dioxide drops, and chemical damage becomes permanent according to Jancis Robinson.
39°C / 100°F: Damage happens after just six hours.
Beer
Next on the list is beer transport. Many people think that beer is more durable than wine, and while this might be the case for cans, beer bottles are just as fragile as wine bottles. Therefore, there are a few considerations when it comes to shipping this product. First, the optimal temperature for shipping beer is between 37 and 46 degrees F. Second, beer should be packaged using Styrofoam, packing peanuts, and even newspaper.
Why?
The goal is to keep the contents secure and fresh. Bumps and vibrations during transport could cause the cans and bottles to explode without the proper safety measures. Furthermore, if the temperature is too warm, the beer could end up spoiling, leading to a low-quality product. On the other hand, it is important to keep the beer from freezing as well. Water expands so if the beer freezes, it could expand to the point of bursting the cans or bottles. This too could also lead to a rejected shipment.
Liquor
Finally, liquor shipping also has its own considerations. Similar to the other types of alcohol, it is important to make sure the bottles are secure. Liquor bottles are incredibly expensive so these shipments tend to be more valuable. The optimal temperature for shipping liquor is between 55 and 65 degrees F; however, consistency is most important. Finally, it is important to find an LTL company that prides itself on security. This can prevent cargo theft.
Why?
In addition to the security measures, a consistent temperature is important because fluctuations can cause the liquid inside the bottles to expand and contract. This could cause the seal to start leaking, which contaminates the bottle. The end result could be a spoiled product. Therefore, it is essential to find an LTL company that is experienced with the safety and security measures surrounding alcohol transport.
Trust an Experienced LTL Local Trucking Company
Being aware of the issues that can strike your temperature sensitive loads ahead of time means that you can take the proper precautions to ensure that your load arrives in good condition and won’t be rejected by the receiver or cause serious problems for the end user down the road.
Fortunately, Road Scholar Transport offers temperature-protect air-ride trailers to help your products maintain the right conditions throughout the entire transportation process. Combine Road Scholar’s drivers’ experience with our strict in transit security protocols and the result is a “security officer” behind the wheel escorting your freight.
Many carriers use blanket wrap, but we DO NOT. Our reefers are embedded with technology that tracks the temperature within and alerts our team in the event that the temperature goes out of range so that we can rectify the situation prior to the product losing its integrity. We can also provide an audit trail of the trailer temperature throughout the entire transportation process, as well as every time the trailer door was opened/closed, giving you and your customer piece of mind that your products maintained the proper quality and security from point A to point B.
To learn more, visit Road Scholar Transport’s Beer and Alcohol Transport page. We welcome the opportunity to learn more about your transportation needs.
https://lazenne.com/blogs/lazenneblog/48167683-5-tips-for-transporting-wine-in-hot-weather
