Confirming the Wine Status

 I wrote briefly about my FedEx troubles with recent wine delivery. The wine was delayed four days and not stored in good conditions. The condition of the corks seepage concerned me that the wines may have gotten "cooked."

Here is a good description of cooked wine:

If a bottle of wine has been exposed to extremes of heat, the wine might start to expand and leak out of the cork a bit. When you remove the capsule, you might notice a sticky mess. This is evidence your wine may have been exposed to heat, but it doesn't always mean that your wine is toast. A "cooked" wine's flavors will actually taste ... cooked. The fruit flavors might seem stewed, not fresh. There might be baked, burnt or caramel notes. The color may also have changed from deep red to more of a brown or brick tone.  (WineSpectator)

Well, I was concerned. But the only way to know if a wine is cooked is by sight and taste. But what, say, if I didn't want to open the bottle right now. I generally like to keep my bottles for a few weeks/months/years depending on the varietal and vintage. 

So, how to taste and evaluate the wines without opening them? 

The Coravin! 

I have had a Coravin for a few years but use it only infrequently. But, it provided a great way for me to sample the wines and make a determinations to whether they were cooked or not. 

Fortunately, the wines which appeared to have suffered the most were not cooked--by the definition above. They just got too warm and expanded in the bottle. This, of course, will lessen their shelf life, but again I am lucky in that none of the wines in this shipment were destined for long-term lay-down. One of the bottles, a solid CabSauv, was so good that I finished the bottle across three nights without ever removing the cork. 

That is the beauty of the Coravin. Chris and I are on divergent wine tastes at the moment, she likes whites more and I the reds, I will be using my Coravin a bit more because some wines go flat too quickly once oxidized.

I have contacted the winery and advised them of the results of my sampling and that I will not be requesting the replacements they graciously offered.

Ahh, wine. 

Life is too short to drink bad wine!

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL