Is mildew a bad sign?

alec · Post by **alec** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 8:57 am

Was looking at a Sothebys Auction and they had some port at a decent price but the labels were supposedly covered with mildew.

Now, I'm not that precious when it comes to the label.....what I care about is what's inside. But I'm curious to know if anyone has found a link between a mildewed bottle and the quality of its contents. Sounds like it was stored at a greater humidity than desired...?

--A

Tom Archer · Post by **Tom Archer** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 2:37 pm

I wouldn't worry too much.

Very high humidity will cause labels to rot, but that won't damage the contents.

Levels are much more tell-tale

Alex K. · Post by **Alex K.** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 2:44 pm

What label? High humidity is preferable so a mouldy old label is no problem and explains why a lot of aged port has no label at all.

Rico Thompson · Post by **Rico Thompson** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 5:19 pm

.......hence those stenciled labels