For The Love Of Port

There is a long standing tradition of putting a white splash of paint on bottles to ensure that they are always cellared the same way up - either because they were going to be stored without labels, or to compensate if the labels rotted away over time.

Whether it makes any difference if the bottles get periodically rotated I really don't know, but many cases have the words 'This side up' or similar marked on them, and one assumes that the white splash tradition would not have arisen without a reason.

Trouble is, that in every case I've opened over the last year, there has been no attempt to pack the bottles label side up.

So is this an old tradition that makes not a jot of difference, or should we be opening our case bound wines, turning the bottles round the right way and scolding the shippers?

- Thoughts??

Tom

Tom,

I've said this before, I wish they would put the white paint back on the bottles. I understand it is labor intensive to do, but it is also a tradition I wish they would keep. As for your cases, I always open my cases. Mainly to check for any damage (signs of heat damage, leakers, etc.) and to make sure all the labels are facing up. Then into the cellar to sleep 8)

1. I think the white paint should always be used because too many traditions are being allowed to die :x

2. I don't think it really makes any difference to the wine

3. I think Tom should buy some white paint and put a splash on the upmost side of all the bottles in each case so that he will always know which is the right side up regardless of where the label is 8)

Derek

Actually, Derek's last point is pretty close to what I always do.

While I don't think it will do any harm to the wine for a bottle to be occasionally moved and laid down with a new part of the bottle pointing up, I do try and keep my bottles pointing in the same direction as consistently as I can. If I receive a case (or individual bottle) which has clearly been lying in a direction that ignores the label or where the white splash has worn off, I will paint my own white splash.

My only observed experience is that as the sediment forms in a bottle of port, one of the first steps is that a thin film is deposited on the inside of the bottom of the bottle as it lies. If a bottle is constantly rotated then this film appears to deposit over the entire inside of the bottle - which makes it more difficult for me to decant given the way in which I decant my wines.

But I mostly think I paint my own white splashes as evidence that I suffer from OCD....

Alex

If the only purpose is to make the wine a little easier to decant, then it would seem to be a detail of little consequence.

One old book of mine refers to the practice of shaking lead shot inside the bottle to pit the glass prior to bottling - the purpose being to make the sediment stick to the glass. However, this practice was considered old-fashioned in the 1920's, so long obsolete!

Personally, I'd rather use a funnel and waste a sip than risk getting powderered glass and lead poisoning from a bottle :?

Tom

My name is Derek, and I suffer from OCD too :?

If this is a OCD Anonymous, then it's going to be a long and irrelevant thread. For classic OCD behaviour watch me (or probably any of us) rinse a glass. And rinse it again. And …