Bad Wine---good Wine

[saltydog28]

This post has nothing to do with cruising, but the CCers are very knoweledgable.
In the summer of '03 my husband and I motored to Niagra Falls Canada, where we stopped at a small family owned winery. I purchased four bottles of wine. Two merlot-one chardonnay-one rose`. I gave the merlot away and drank the chardonnay, and forgot about the rose` until this Thanksgiving. When I opened the bottle, the bottom of the cork was dark and had crystals on it. It had a strong aroma of grapefruit (that was my impression) but it had good flavor. I couldn't drink it because I couldn't get passed the smell. And I adhere to the addage, 'when in doubt'. I did store it in a dark place. But I left it standing up.
Can someone tell me what was going on. What should I have done. Was it safe to drink?
Thanks in advance. Sorry for the spelling.
Take care,
Pat.

[dakrewser]

If it was stored standing up, but the bottom of the cork was dark and had crystals attached, then I'd expect it had gotten very warm (and expanded in volume). This would seriously hasten the aging process.
It would have been "safe" to drink, though there's little reason to drink something unpleasant simply because it's there. Chalk this one up under "experience".

:) -dave

[ColoradoJuli]

Light colored wines (anything but red) should be drank within two years from when they were crafted. If the vintage was '03, then the wine should have been fine, (if it was stored properly) but my guess is that the vintage was a year or two before you visited and that could explain the stench. I agree with Dave that you shouldn't drink it if you can't stand the smell. If the bottle is corked, you can call the winery and see if they will replace it for you. They could run into laws prohibiting the transportation or shipping of wines across state boarders. I know that Oklahoma has such a law, but in Colorado they don't care if you bring in an entire semi-truck full of liquor.

[johnnycruise]

I don't think you can have alcoholic beverages mailed to you from a foreign country, including our Canadian neighbors. The US Customs Service wouldn't like missing its duty (tax).