Above is a classic scene in the movie “Bottle Shock”.  Little did I know that I would experience bottle shock at an inopportune moment this last week.  First…what is bottle shock.

Apparently around a week after bottling and lasting one to three months, the wine undergoes a reversible transformation.  “The wine tastes disjointed, unpleasant, and unfinished when in a state of bottle shock, but it doesn’t taste awful/undrinkable. The phrase most typically used to describe wine currently in bottle shock is “muted.” In the forefront are the tannins and the acid, with the fruit hiding somewhere deep in the background. Even more often, the wine throws off odd, reductive aromas.”

Normally when I visit my wine every month to check the sulfur level and taste, I take a few 1/2 bottle samples.  We drink them within the week and although young, it tastes great.  Well, this time I was having a knowledgable person in the wine industry taste my wine.  This 1/2 bottle had been stored for 3 weeks.  It normally takes about 1/2 hour to open up but in this case the wine tasted very acidic and flat with no fruit flavors.  I could not understand it.  Then I remembered “Bottle Shock”, although I had never experienced it until now.  The real confirmation will come the next time I take a sample and bring it home…

So, when Turtle Vines Pinot is released, I will include instructions on how and when to open the bottle, as you can also get “Travel Shock”, just like “Bottle Shock”.