How much shaking can a wine take?

I'm always asking myself that question when I see wines sold aboard cruise liners. (We have a few of them going between Sweden and Finland.) These wines shake more or less all day long, sometimes so badly you'd figure were they cream they'd turn to butter.

So, does this shaking cause permanent damage? As I see it, the shaking will speed up chemical reactions, possibly causing any oxygen in the bottle to react faster than it would in still conditions. Anything else? Will it ruin the wine in the long run?

Or will a few weeks of rest save a wine no matter how shaken it has been?

(I've posted this question on WS as well.)

For best results...best left alone.

The large cruise ships today don't shake. They may slightly roll so very gently as to leave most wines unaffected. If it's sediment you're worried about, the waiter or sommelier/pest carrying the wine will stir that up a lot more than the ship.

i usually bring mine to the shop and throw them in the paint shaker for 10 mins. minimum

Anthony, I know what you mean. The good stuff is always clumped up at the bottom of the bottle.

Markus, I do not know if shaking can ruin a wine, but it is commonly accepted that wines after being in transit for some time (shipping, initial import etc.....) can be termed "travel shock", "travel sickness" or the like. Wines will not show as well or may be experienced as out of balance often after having gone thrrough times of transit or shaking.

I do not believe that there is any scientific data to support this, but the fact that so many people taste the difference/affects is support enough for me to always give wines that have recently been shipped to me several weeks to settle down.

I hope this helps.

Thanks all,

Yes, I too let my bottles rest in case of bottle shock. I'm still curious as to wether or not the shaking can damage the wine permanently, though.

Board-O,
these cruise liners shake - very badly. Most of the shaking comes in heavy seas (the baltic is very shallow so it can be rough), or when the bow screw is activated, but they do shake enough that the entire shop sounds cli-cli-cli-cling - enough to make your voice hoarse if you try to make yourself heard.

Anyway, thanks for your replies, any further comment is appreciated!

Not the cruise ships I've been on. They're so smooth that it almost feels like you're on land. Assuming you're not drinking older wines, I doubt there's any difference.

I guess there isn't. The only "old" wine I've seen for sale was the 1991 (?) Mas La Plana currently on campaign.

I believe in general that it is not a good idea to drink an older wine that comes out of any cruise ship's cellar. Storage has to be iffy on ships whether they have stabelizers or not.