[disasterarea]

how do you store your wine? I usually buy from the supermarket where they have it standing upright as opposed to lying flat. I usually store them horizontal when I get them home and are drunk at most a few months from date of purchase. Unfortunately over the years I have found that some to be corked and have always wondered if storing them lying down had caused this or just by the law of average you will end up with a corked wine now and again. TIA.

 

[SkaredShtles]

It's unlikely you're getting corked from short term storage like that. Do you store them somewhere cool?

I've run across a few corked bottles over the past few years and simply return them to the liquor store for exchange.

 

[narlus]

law of averages i'd say.

 

[OGRipper]

law of averages i'd say.

Yep. But it can help to buy from a wine shop rather than a supermarket. There's usually nothing wrong with short-term horizontal storage in a busy market - the bottles don't spend that much time on the shelf. But the supply and distribution chain in many larger markets can mean your wine spent time in lots of different temperatures and humidity levels, which increase the chances of getting a bad bottle. This is possible in wine shops too but less so, at least in my experience. Plus a wine shop will usually take back a corked bottle with no questions asked and maybe a comp of some kind, whereas it can be a pain in the ass in a regular market.

 

[TN]

Are you sure they were corked?
It could have been a temperature issue as opposed to TCA or cork taint which I believe is a fungus.
If it is a temperature issue, the wine may have gotten too hot, expanded, breaching the cork & allowing too much oxygen in the bottle causing the wine to oxidize, which most likely would make the wine taste like vinegar.

We keep ours under our window unit AC & they seem to holding up well, but our oldest bottle was purchased in June.

 

[disasterarea]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I think it looks like I'll have to accept it as the law of averages. None of the wine that went bad had a vinegary taste. They all had a nasty mouldy taste, it was so bad for one bottle I actually had to use mouthwash. Will check supermarkets' policy on returning corked wine though. Cheers.

 

[TN]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I think it looks like I'll have to accept it as the law of averages. None of the wine that went bad had a vinegary taste. They all had a nasty mouldy taste, it was so bad for one bottle I actually had to use mouthwash. Will check supermarkets' policy on returning corked wine though. Cheers.

That sounds like corked wine. If they won't let you return it, I'd start shopping else where. Any respectable wine merchant will let you return a tainted bottle.

 

[Changleen]

Always lay bottles sealed with a cork on their side for any extended period more than a couple of days. The cork relies on the moisture to maintain a good seal and can dry out quite fast.

Also keep any wine out of the sun, even for a day or so, and your cellar area should ideally be a constant temp around 10 degrees centigrade. (Hence why most cellars are underground.)

 

[Changleen]

Remember that in a lot of stores wine that might not sell too often (more expensive bottles especially) can sit out in the sunlight for a few days, which can really screw up the wine. If I buy from a small store, I get a bottle a couple back from the front which has been shaded to try and avoid this.

I guess in a supermarket with artificial light this might not be such an issue though, but a similar problem might occur with lesser sold bottles standing up for a extended period of time waiting to sell.