How long should you wait to open wine that's been shipped?
A portion of this article appeared in the Vail Daily, Carpe Wine column.
Summer is just around the corner, and if you’re anything like me, that means one thing: it’s time to stock up on wine, especially rosé. But here’s the thing — shipping wine in the heat of summer is a hard no. High temperatures is one the main enemies of wine, wreaking havoc on a bottle, cooking the wine before it ever reaches your glass. Your best bet is to ship during the cooler months, when the weather works with you rather than against you. And once those bottles do arrive, there’s one more thing worth knowing before you reach for the corkscrew — how long to actually let them rest.
If you have ever opened a bottle of wine right after it’s been shipped and wondered why it tastes a little… off, there’s a reason. It is likely suffering from “bottle shock” — or “travel shock” as some call it. When wine is subjected to constant movement during transit — whether from turbulent flights, rough roads, or other forms of agitation — it can temporarily lose its ability to express its full range of flavors and aromas.
Think about how you feel after a long-haul flight — groggy, disoriented, not quite yourself. Wine is no different. A rough trip can leave wine just as out of sorts, and like any weary traveler, it simply needs time to recover before it’s ready to shine again.
Ask the internet how long wine needs to rest after shipping and you’ll get a dozen different answers — some people swear by it, others think it is nonsense. But after years of having wine shipped, I’m a firm believer: it genuinely makes a difference. Crack open a bottle too soon after it arrives and something is just… missing. The wine falls flat, the flavors muted, the whole experience duller than it should be. In short — it’s just not worth it.
The question becomes just how long should your wine rest before you open in?
Recommendations vary wildly — I’ve had wineries tell me to wait anywhere from one or two weeks to a full eight. But in my experience, the right answer depends less on the winery and more on how the wine actually got to you.
It makes sense when you think about it. The more a bottle is jostled and shaken, the more any sediment — especially in unfiltered wines — gets stirred up and needs time to settle back down. I used to assume air travel was the hardest on wine, until I moved to Vail and started noticing my shipments taking longer to arrive, passing through even more distribution centers and trucks along the way. That’s when it clicked: long-haul ground shipping across the country is actually tougher on wine than flying. Turns out, a plane is the gentlest way to get a bottle from point A to point B. It’s important to note this as when you order wine you can typically ask for ground or air shipping.
So, what’s the magic number? As a general rule of thumb, a wine that traveled by plane should rest for at least a week before you uncork it. For bottles that made the long haul by ground — crossing time zones in the back of a truck — give it closer to four weeks. It might feel like an eternity when you’re staring down a box of exciting new arrivals, but trust me, the patience pays off in the glass.
Elaine Schoch is an award-winning travel writer, wine judge, American Wine Specialist and certified by the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET III). At Carpe Travel she shares wine travel destination guides for ALL WINE LOVERS – from novices to experienced pros – to help them plan their wine adventures, arming them with insider tips, must-visit spots, and things to see and do beyond the vines.