Bottle conditions-- What is important?

Walt R. · Post by **Walt R.** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 7:52 am

I have seen some excellent VP for sale recently with some bottle conditions. My questions is how much value do I pay to these. Does a slightly raised cork matter? I have bought bottles of VP stated to have
very slight signs of seepage and been unable to see any. It also seems that there is no or little differences in price on ports with very slight signs of seepage or slightly raised corks. What matters. Thanks.

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 11:07 am

I can't say I've bought any bottles that have had a raised cork, even at a good deal. A raised cork is generally a sure fire way to tell that the bottle has been exposed to some extreme heat and thus "cooked."

As for Slight Signs of Seepage (ssos), I can be a bit more forgiving if the deal is very very good and its an older bottle. Sometimes on older bottles the corks start giving out and they will leak a bit. Sometimes there is a hint of seepage that was a result of a bottling line issue and it only looks like the bottle had leaked (1997 Niepoort's, in full bottles, come to mind). However, bottles that show ssos should not be bought to lie down for many years but should be consumed in short order.

Moses Botbol · Post by **Moses Botbol** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 5:47 am

I'd buy a bottle with SSOS depending on price. For sure if it is at a local B&M, I am going to overstate how bad it is and how likely the bottle is junk. If the bottle was stored on its side for most its life, that is a littel reassuring.

That being said, I have had plenty of SSOS bottles that were fine. Just buyer beware.

Walt R. · Post by **Walt R.** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 12:45 pm

Thanks for the information. As long as the fill level is fine I will bid on
slight seepage bottles.

Post by **Roy Hersh** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 2:21 am

I can't say I've bought any bottles that have had a raised cork, even at a good deal. A raised cork is generally a sure fire way to tell that the bottle has been exposed to some extreme heat and thus "cooked."

Andy,

Believe it or not, it can also be a pefect indicator that the wine was frozen (in shipment) and that the cork was pushed up by the expanding juice. I have had this happen, so I have learned what to look for. : (

Todd Pettinger · Post by **Todd Pettinger** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:24 pm

Which would be worse Roy? Freezing or over heating? I suppose that, like everything, it would depend upon the extent to either side of the temperature scale the wine was exposed to as to what the damage could potentially be, but I would be curious to learn what the differences would b and which would be considered the 'lesser of two evils.'

Todd

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:52 pm

Ohh yeah...we don't allow that kinda cold weather down here in sunny So. Cal.

Todd Pettinger · Post by **Todd Pettinger** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 10:06 pm

As if it's not enough that you have access to more producers of Port, older Vintages, and at significantly better prices than I could dream about, you gotta go throw THAT in my face too Andy???

It's about to go sub-zero (Celcius - yeah, that's 32F) here this weekend if the weather dudes are correct (which they often are not) and there will likely be some snow before Roy's tasting in town here (Nov 9th) although whether it sticks is yet to be seen. :? Looking for a new job... perhaps I should expand my search to south of the border... in particular the Californian border!!??!!

Todd

Post by **Roy Hersh** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 11:50 pm

With Mexico?

Post by **Roy Hersh** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 11:58 pm

Which would be worse Roy? Freezing or over heating?

This is one of the easiest questions I have been asked in a very long time. Heating is significantly worse, without any question at all.

You can read the other thread going on currently which provides all the information on heating of wine and the negatives that evolve quickly and slowly.

But to provide some information on freezing. I know LOTS of people who believe that freezing an already opened bottle of Port (or even white/red table wine) not only works but it is a fantastic preservation method. I have tried it in experiments and am pretty neutral on the outcome, but I will say it is better than using a simple VacuVin and leaving the bottle at room temp. But that aside, I have also received 750 and even Mags of wine and Port tht were frozen and allowed them to slowly return to cellar temp (even with a mostly blown out cork) and the wines have always tasted great. The REAL negative of this condition, which is a shipping problem ... is that the cork can not always be pushed in and often times it means the bottle should be opened and consumed straight away.

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 4:58 am

I've experimented on a few bottles with freezing dry wines and it seems to work fairly well. The only down side is freezing seems to rob the wine of its acidity. To me, it would be a last ditch effort and not something done regularly.

I've not tried it on a Port yet....Hmm, where is that bottle of Six Grapes at :twisted: Seriously, maybe in a week or two I'll give it a try. Freeze a 1/2 bottle and stick another 1/2 bottle into the fridge for a day or two. Then taste them side by side. Maybe inlist the help of a friend so I can do it blind.

Erik Wiechers · Post by **Erik Wiechers** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 9:39 am

It's about to go sub-zero (Celcius - yeah, that's 32F) here this weekend if the weather dudes are correct

Dont get too excited Todd, they predict -2 here also. Hoping for a really cold winter this year with lots of snow and ice