446738 Mon Oct 01 19:34:10 -0700 2007 19 34 Wine 0 2994724 I have been slowly taking inventory of my (somewhat small-I'm a beginner) wine collection, and I found a large drop of tacky, thick dried wine on one of my shelves. I looked at the cork above the spot (I keep my reds on their sides) and found that the foil was strangely ripped right in the center up on top, (a tiny spot of cork showed through) and from what I could see, some red wine had leaked out (fairly recently). The rip is small, and the spot of cork that is visible looks like it has been lightly stained with wine, but it's nearly dry, so I know that the leak has stopped. Is this strange? The wine is a Donnafugata Mille Una Notte 2001. I spent about $60 on it last year (it's one of my favorite Sicilian reds, and the '01 is now a legend in Sicily and impossible to find there). Is it dead? Am I just out of luck? Or is this common and not a problem? In any case, what causes this? Please advise. Mon Oct 01 19:34:10 -0700 2007 102095 vvvindaloo 1 2994771 No, it's not all that strange, but I do have some concerns about the temperature at which this wine has been stored. Mon Oct 01 19:48:41 -0700 2007 2994724 28122 zin1953 2 2994800 OK, so are you saying it's possible that the wine has been ruined by cold? Or that most likely the cork shrunk due to storage temp but is still ok? Thanks for responding. Mon Oct 01 19:58:04 -0700 2007 2994771 102095 vvvindaloo 3 2994931 If the cork is distended, heat, in lieu of cold, is the more likely culprit. Depending on the storage, and/or delivery conditions, the wine will often expand, and push the cork, often with some of the wine out of the bottle. It sounds like there was exposure to heat (though a few other things, like a secondary fermentation, can cause the distended cork), at some point along the way. Lack of humidity can also cause some leakage, but usually not a distended cork. At the worst, the wine might be "maderized," i.e. cooked. At the least, the exposure to the heat, depending on how hot, and how long, might have caused a bit of premature aging of the wine. Living in AZ, I occassionally incur this problem, if someone ships my wine in the Summer. The Fed-X trucks get very hot in July! I've opened and consumed some wines, that I really planned on keeping in the celalr for a few years. None has been "bad," but a few have been far more tannic, than I would have planned. Extensive decanting normally helps that along a bit, but I'd plan on tasting your wine soon. If it has some of the taste profile of Madeiria, then it probably has been cooked, and there's not much you can do to reclaim it. If it still tastes good, you might have to decant for a bit longer than normal, because of its age. For an '01, that should not be that big a deal. Hunt Mon Oct 01 21:04:43 -0700 2007 2994800 11329 Bill Hunt 1 2994779 Upon further inspection (ok, I pulled the foil back ever-so-slightly), I notice that the cork is definitely intact and all the way in the bottle (flush with the bottle top). But it's very red. Could it be that the cork shrunk in the past and now the wine has come out from around the sides? If so, is it sheer coincidence that the foil was lightly pierced and the wine came through? Were this scenario to be accurate, would the wine still be ok, or should I get really upset right about now??? Thanks to whomever can help me out. Mon Oct 01 19:51:22 -0700 2007 2994724 102095 vvvindaloo 2 2994938 OK, it seems as though the cork is NOT distended from the bottle, but has leaked. There are a lot of possibilities for this, including low humidity, faulty cork, etc. If the bottle has been stored on its side, the likelihood of much air "entering" the bottle is diminished. With a faulty cork, however, I'd argue against longer term storage, and plan on drinking up sooner, rather than later. Hunt Mon Oct 01 21:08:44 -0700 2007 2994779 11329 Bill Hunt 3 2995321 Thank you very much for your explanations, I feel a little bit better now. I will plan to drink it soon, as I guess time is now of the essence. Tue Oct 02 04:53:52 -0700 2007 2994938 102095 vvvindaloo 4 2995460 Bill has explained it quite well. I do NOT think you have major problems, now that it appears heat has not played a part in this. Corks leak all the time. (No, not every cork leaks; but a leaky cork is far from a rare occurance.) Presuming there is still a "good fill" in the bottle,I think the wine is fine, but I to would argue against long-term aging. Tue Oct 02 06:18:52 -0700 2007 2995321 28122 zin1953 5 2995836 wonderful, thank you. Tue Oct 02 08:14:27 -0700 2007 2995460 102095 vvvindaloo 2 2995039 Open. Drink it. Life is short. Mon Oct 01 22:06:15 -0700 2007 2994779 28703 RicRios 3 2995322 cheers! Tue Oct 02 04:54:16 -0700 2007 2995039 102095 vvvindaloo 1 2995933 A cork that's very red all the way to the top sounds like heat damage to me. You never come out and state it: are people right in assuming you've been storing the wine in a cool wine cellar? If not, there's the likely culprit. If so, the bottle could still have been damaged before you put it in the cellar, either at the store or on the trip home. zin1953 is, as usual, right that corks do sometimes leak. However, in my experience they tend to do so only in one spot, not all around. Heat-damaged wines on the other hand... In any case, it all argues for opening the wine sooner, as others have pointed out. If the wine's cooked, it'll taste stewed, pruney and flat. Tue Oct 02 08:37:17 -0700 2007 2994724 10520 carswell 1 2996218 Check the ullage, that'll let you know how bad the leak was. Tue Oct 02 09:35:28 -0700 2007 2994724 11369 Robert Lauriston 2 2996425 Ok, the wine looks to be just a couple of millimeters or so above the "shoulders"- the neck is still not quite empty. So the loss hasn't been too great. Also, I am not convinced that the cork is soaked through- I think the wine has leaked and gotten trapped by the foil, where it then dried up (because a small part of the cork is exposed to air) and stained the top of the cork. I am afraid it's possible that I caused this by leaving the wine at too high a temp- I live in a small apt. in Manhattan and it can get warm throughout very easily. I keep them far away from sunlight, but definitely not below room temp. I don't see how I can remedy this, quite frankly. My closets get hot and stuffy, and the fridge is too cold, right? Tue Oct 02 10:17:39 -0700 2007 2996218 102095 vvvindaloo 3 2996471 If the bottle has spent more than a few hours at temperatures higher than 80ºF -- and the fact that you've noticed the leakage at the end of the summer would indicate it has -- the chances are high that the wine is cooked. Open the bottle as soon as possible; the stewed and disjointed character will only get worse with time. Your best solution for avoiding the problem in the future is to buy a wine fridge. If that's not an option, store your bottles in your regular fridge during the warm months and plan on drinking them fairly soon after purchase. Tue Oct 02 10:28:45 -0700 2007 2996425 10520 carswell 3 2996480 Buy a small wine cooler or rent storage space: http://www.winecare.com http://www.mwcwine.com Tue Oct 02 10:30:22 -0700 2007 2996425 11369 Robert Lauriston 4 2996593 I agree. What does everyone think of this option: http://www.wineenthusiast.com/E/details.asp?Ep=A/20591&uid=7CD78FA4-08A6-460D-AA32-A904FA9A9085 Tue Oct 02 10:55:51 -0700 2007 2996480 102095 vvvindaloo 5 2996755 No moving parts is good. Tue Oct 02 11:31:22 -0700 2007 2996593 11369 Robert Lauriston 3 2996514 Definitely get a wine fridge. There are teeny ones for sale that you can put on a countertop and don't cost too much. They're not meant for 10 year storage, but it'll at least allow you to store something for one or two years. Otherwise, it's just not worth keeping anything in your apartment. Sucks, I know. I learned this the hard way -- by accidentally cooking what should have been a gorgeous Chateauneuf du Pape. Like your wine, mine also got leaky and seeped out through the top. The wine wasn't totally ruined, but you could tell it had seen better days. Make sure you get the biggest one you can get too. I bough a 28-bottle cooler because that's the largest I had room for in my small brooklyn apartment and it's already full. Sigh. Tue Oct 02 10:37:41 -0700 2007 2996425 16011 oolah 1 3072742 Opened it last night- still smooth, delicious and full. Maybe ever-so-slightly dulled, but we loved it just the same. Thanks everyone, for your help. Sat Oct 27 14:06:20 -0700 2007 2994724 102095 vvvindaloo