by Linda Argue

Created on: June 01, 2008

You have opened that perfect bottle of wine for that special occasion and something has gone horribly wrong. It smell like a cellar and tastes bad. If youv'e spent a lot of money on the wine, you are mad and as you open another bottle you cuss the wine, the clerk who assured you it was wonderful and winemakers in general.What has happened to the wine and how can you assure it won't happen again. The long and the short of it is that you are very likely to get bad wine.

Bad wine has millions of reasons and most of these are undetectable upon buying. Everyone has gotten a bad bottle or wine if you drink wine frequently.

Corkage is often the reason that wines go bad. Corks are not the perfect sealing implement. Corks shrink if the wine is improperly stored, allowing air to come in contact with the wine. If it sits long enough the wine turns, You may notice mold has grown on the cork or that the wine has leaked. The bottle is ruined and it can happen to the best wines. Wines stored sitting upright have more problems with corkage so look for wines stored on their sides. Synthetic corks and screw caps have alleviated some of these problems but if you are a purest look for corks that are well seated, no leakage and proper storage.

Temperature affects wine more than most consumers know. With shipping the way it is in the United States temperatures can vary widely. At the liquor store I work at we have seen whole cases of German Rieslings with the corks lifted. These wines had frozen in shipment and were immediately returned. Of course extreme heat can have the same effect on the wine. Wine should be stored properly in relationship to temperature. When choosing a bottle of wine feel the temperature of the bottle with your hand. If it feels slightly cool than go with that. If it's warm put it back and avoid displays near the stores windows. Sun beating on bottles of wine for long periods of time will ruin the wine.

There is a serious misconception in aging wine in that people think that old wines are the best but often wines are designed to be served young. That is the case with most white wines however with everything in the wine world there are always exceptions. Some chardonnays and champagnes can be held for long periods of time. More red wines come to us ready to drink and can be served immediately with now long term aging required. Of course this means that these wines will lose some of their flavor as they lay on the shelves for long periods of time. A good wine clerk

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