WineBid provenance issues?

Another semi heat damaged Rhone from winebid. I have maybe 3 cases of WineBid wines and have drank about 6-8 of them. Of those 6-8, 1/2 of them have had some issues with them that give me the impression that they were damaged at some point.

Obviously hard to prove but what’s everyone’s consensus with bottle quality from WineBid purchases?

The burgundy bottles have generally held up better than the Rhone bottles I’ve consumed from them.

Let me guess no refunds on any purchases.

When I read winebid’s TOS they basically said all sales final.

I’ve bought a lot of bottles from Winebid and have had consistent good quality of bottles. I’m curious for more details about the bottles that were damaged.

• how old were they?
• what wine region were they from?
• did they have any condition issues that might have indicated problems? E.g. seepage, pushed or depressed corks?

For the record no auction house that I know of guarantees bottle quality other than committing to publish standard condition info.

Never had an issue with Winebid. I buy a lot of Rhône’s too. Not to say the OP doesn’t, but it seems like an outlier based on my buying experience of 5-7 years worth of purchases.
What is “semi heat damaged?”

I have had one or two bottles that had signs of Coravin issues but no major issues . . .

Cheers

Auction has been good over the years, as good or better than retail, especially when factoring in price.

WB has been better than the others, though there I tend to focus on wines that have been professionally stored or appear to be distributor closeout. I have had more spoiled wines from other auction houses since my last flawed non-corked or premoxed bottle from WB (in 2017).

Auction buying is a risk, so I do try to be selective in what I bid on (recent vintages mainly) and the price I pay (at least 20-30% below retail).

This is something I would pay attention to and compare to the auction descriptions. If the bottle condition does not match the inspection notes (e.g. seepage that was not noted on the auction page), one has good case to contact customer service.

I’ve consumed hundreds, maybe thousands, of bottles from winebid with a much better track record for being in good shape than most sources for back-vintage wines. But you have to have a good nose for what you’re buying. If you’re buying 1960s Bordeaux, for instance, ask yourself how many people in America in the 1960s had a proper wine cellar instead of keeping their wine in a rack in the living room or random spot in the basement.

I don’t think it has anything to do with WineBid. I feel like a broken record but I’ve found more and more heat damaged wines in the US over the past year or two. The shipping situation is a mess and wines are not treated as they should.

I have purchased 132 bottles and every bottle has been perfect.

generally 10-15 years old northern rhone bottles. none of the conditions that they publish (seepage, etc…). nothing other than the occasional slightly damaged label if anything.

i wanted to gauge if this was a regular issue for berserkers or perhaps just a few poorly stored, past their prime bottles.

frankly, ive been buying more bottles to fill up a case to ship now that their shipping terms changed. definitely worthwhile to see if this is an issue or not.

I’ve had a few wines over the years from Winebid that looked fine but we’re obviously damaged upon opening.

But it’s an auction. You take that risk. You bought it likely because the price looked good. It was, for the odds that you might get a dud. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t.

None of this has anything to do with Winebid or anything they could or should change.

Is it possible the problem bottles came from the same seller? Or, any other commonality, like producer or summer shipping?

Price in all risks and costs before bidding.
My WineBid experience has been worth re-living.
End of story.

Perhaps you’re opening the bottles too soon after receiving them and they’re suffering from Travel Shock?

im gonna chalk this up to some bad apples. frankly, this thread helps knowing that others have had a much longer history with the company and have had good experiences regarding quality.

Just be happy they didn’t send you an extra bottle.

Love it!

Piling on here - I’ve been been buying consistently (like, almost weekly) for years now and have a VERY solid track record with Winebid. As others have mentioned, just pay attention to the descriptions/what you’re buying and weigh the cost/reward appropriately and it usually works out pretty well