I recently opened a bottle of wine from Volteo with temperature-sensitive ink in the label that turns blue when the wine is at the optimal serving temperature (a la Coors Light).

Note in addition to the outline of the horse and rider, the phrase “Drinking Temperature O.K.” appear on the side. The example animation above, from the Volteo website, exaggerates the effect a bit. Below is a photo I took of the bottle I had (a white wine from the same producer).

I understand this technology has been around a while (it was mentioned in Time’s Coolest Inventions 2004), but I think this is the first one I’ve run across and I wish they were more common. I frequently pull my whites from the wine cellar/mini-fridge soon before dinner and throw them in the regular refrigerator to cool another 5-10 degrees. I hate pouring a glass too soon. (Unlike Gary V, I like my whites cool.) This would be useful for reds, too. I don’t believe in “reds at room temperature” meaning my house’s 72 degrees. The general rule for reds is around 60-64 degrees. Now, normally, I’m pulling them from the cellar and they need to warm up a few degrees, but you could watch for the blue to disappear, I suppose.

In terms of aesthetics, If a winery doesn’t want to integrate it into their front label design like they did on the Volteo, it could just be a smallish square on the back label.

So what do you think? Would you find this helpful? Do you run across them very often? If you know of other wines using this in their packaging, leave a comment please.