Have you ever returned a corked bottle of Port (or wine) to a retailer?

[Roy Hersh]

If so, please share your experience.

If not ... why not?

[Al B.]

I've only ever done this at Tescos in the UK. I bought a bottle of their own label 1994 vintage port (which is Quarles Harris) and when I opened it a few days later, it was very badly tainted.

I took it back to the store and returned it for a refund. I was also really pleased when they pointed out that there is an extra quality guarantee on their own label products that means they will also replace as well as refudn.

I walked away with a free bottle of Quarles Harris 1994 VP.

I've never tried returning a bottle several years after buying it. Most wine merchants these days sell older bottles at the buyer's risk.

[Rob C.]

I have been very well treated by Berry Brothers in London over the last couple of years.

Despite the fact that their old ports are sold at a reasonable premium, i am happy to buy there since their storage is good and all it takes is an email to say that the wine/port was bad and they refund without quibble. I also once sent them a picture of a port that showed signs of seepage on the selo - the cost was re-credited to me with no requirement to return the bottle. I am willing to accept this is probably a sign that i spend far too much there!

With other retailers, if the purchase is a single bottle and the "return" can't be done by email/phone-call, I'm less likely to bother. That said, if i were ever to buy a case and find out that there were significant problems with it (whether obvious to the eye or only on opening the first couple of bottles), i would make a fuss.

[Andy Velebil]

Directly, no. But once, yes. A friend worked at a wine store and a bottle I got there a few days earlier was horribly corked. My friend happened to be at my house when I opened and demanded I give him the bottle so he could take it back to work and replace it, which he did. That I can recall, it was the only time I've done so.