Sorry, but you didn't buy that corked bottle from us!

[Craig_G]

I’m putting Brian on ignore. I’ll never get back all that time I spent sharpening my pitchfork.

[C_Bowman]

I’ve read most of this thread but not all 4 pages. I don’t think it’s necessary to name anyone but I wanted to add my .02.
There was a person on another board that purchased a wine from a retailer that was corked. I guess the retailer was not in a position for whatever reason to replace it. After reading his angst I contacted the member and told him I’d contact the distributor even though the wine had changed distribution since original purchase. Long story short the distributor contacted the winery and they made sure to send a bottle to us and in turn I shipped it to the person that had the corked bottle.
Moral of my story: Wineries do not like consumers to be unhappy with their products and 99.9% are happy to make things right.

[Brian_Tuite]

@Craig G

I’m putting Brian on ignore. I’ll never get back all that time I spent sharpening my pitchfork.

[Mike_Wenzel]

So I just had a somewhat similar experience for the first time. Purchased a bottle of wine from a retailer for around $16, opened it, it was hideously corked. Contacted the winery to see if they would replace the bottle as return to the retailer was not feasible. I offered to return the corked bottle, which I still have.

Wineries response was that they would offer to sell me a replacement bottle for 30% off the winery direct price, which is essentially the same price I paid at the retailer.

I wrote back, telling them that I don’t think it would be fair for me to bear the loss and that they should bear the loss instead since they sold a defective product. (This is a wine they make 17,000 cases of, so the loss would obviously be minimal). Their response, from a manger, was:


We’re happy to replace defective bottles when the wine is purchased from the winery. When wine is purchased from a retailer, the return is normally processed through the retailer.

However, since you purchased the wine from xxxx, and they do not replace damaged bottles, we would be happy to sell you a bottle at a substantial discount – 30%.

Obviously it’s not about the money, but in my 25 years of drinking wine, this was a first. And this is a winery 45 minutes from my house whose wine I have purchased many times over the years, mostly at retail, but also on rare occasion at the winery.

[H_Wallace_Jr]

@Mike Wenzel

However, since you purchased the wine from xxxx, and they do not replace damaged bottles, we would be happy to sell you a bottle at a substantial discount – 30%.

What retailer doesn’t replace corked bottles?

[larry_schaffer]

Why was it not feasible to return it to the retailer? Was it out of state? Couldn’t they have given you a credit against future purchases?

This certainly does not excuse the the not very smart reply from the winery. Just wondering though.

[AlexS]

@H Wallace Jr

@Mike Wenzel

However, since you purchased the wine from xxxx, and they do not replace damaged bottles, we would be happy to sell you a bottle at a substantial discount – 30%.

What retailer doesn’t replace corked bottles?

This.

It’s on the distributer, not them.

[Joe_G_a_l_e_w_s_k_i]

@Brian Tuite

Seriously I am lowering my expectations moving forward regardless of the winery.

I think you should name the winery. If a winery refuses to replace a corked bottle because of “whatever”, I would like to know about that. They are selling a defective product, and refusing to compensate the customers that purchased the defective product. And if you do not out the winery, then I feel that you should not have started this thread in the first place, and kept it private. At this point, both you and the winery are in the wrong, in my personal opinion.

[Mike_Wenzel]

@H Wallace Jr

@Mike Wenzel

However, since you purchased the wine from xxxx, and they do not replace damaged bottles, we would be happy to sell you a bottle at a substantial discount – 30%.

What retailer doesn’t replace corked bottles?

Had this happen plenty of times. Either no longer have original receipt, they have a 90 day policy, or they argue about it and say how do we know you store the wine correctly (even though that has nothing to do with a corked bottle). There are multiple retailers in the Bay Area I stopped dealing with for this very reason. It’s not worth my time to argue over a corked bottle. Complete opposite of K&L, which is why they are usually my go to retailer.

[Robert_M_yers]

@Joe G a l e w s k i

@Brian Tuite

Seriously I am lowering my expectations moving forward regardless of the winery.

I think you should name the winery. If a winery refuses to replace a corked bottle because of “whatever”, I would like to know about that. They are selling a defective product, and refusing to compensate the customers that purchased the defective product. And if you do not out the winery, then I feel that you should not have started this thread in the first place, and kept it private. At this point, both you and the winery are in the wrong, in my personal opinion.

All you need to do is send a note to any wineries you buy direct from and ask them what their policy is on corked bottles before making the purchase. Your risk Problem solved.

[Michael_Martin]

I never had a winery refuse to replace a corked bottle, ever. Bedrock, Carlisle, Jaffurs are the ones I remember. Zero fuss.

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

@H Wallace Jr

@Mike Wenzel

However, since you purchased the wine from xxxx, and they do not replace damaged bottles, we would be happy to sell you a bottle at a substantial discount – 30%.

What retailer doesn’t replace corked bottles?

Many retailers will only replace (or give refund/store credit) for faulty bottles within 30 (or xx) days of purchase. Retailers with such policies do not get my business.

[jbray23]

@GregT

Since nobody answered Bodie’s post I will.

Producers of highly allocated wine for which you pay a premium should make your purchase good. Contact the winery and let them know and if you need to, send them a picture of the cork or if they ask, send them the cork. Some of them are very concerned and want to know this type of stuff.

If it’s a $20 bottle and it’s bad, sometimes it’s not worth the time you’ll spend complaining. But if it’s a pricey bottle and it’s bad, they need to know.

Unfortunately, if their wine is in such demand, they may not be all that interested and may just decide it’s preferable to lose you as a customer than to go through the effort of getting a good bottle to you through dealers, etc., on a different continent.

Often times with highly allocated wines that are faulty the stores in our area will just give you credit as they can’t replace the bottle directly. They will then send it back to the distributor, the distributor doesn’t have the exact same wine but will replace like dollar amounts with wines the store currently sells.

If you can’t take a corked bottle back it’s BS, one may role their eyes at a 10 year old bottle being returned, but corked is corked, it was faulty from the start and will always be, no matter who you bought it from.

[larry_schaffer]

And one therefore has to wonder what the ‘real’ percentage of corked wines is if folks are not allowed to return them, regardless of price . . .

Cheers

[H_Wallace_Jr]

The no return for corked bottles from a retailer still doesn’t make sense. In most (maybe close to all) markets a retailer can bill back corked bottles to the wholesaler, and then the wholesaler bills it back to the winery.

If a customer paid by card within 6 months it should be possible to find their purchases through their POS system or authorize.net

[GregT]

Hardy that’s true but then they factor in the time and effort cost on top of the product cost. Customer service guy, manager, wholesale rep, his manager, back to the winery and their people. And someone has to keep that bottle in a corner somewhere in his office and remember it. So I think a lot of times the store just eats the cost.

I get that the logistics are not worth the effort to send it all the way up the chain in every case, but if it’s a faulty product, that seems pretty relevant to the producer more than the retailer. It’s not quite the same as other retail items either because wine isn’t used until it’s drunk and that may be years down the road. So you buy a tool or clothes or something and the stuff is faulty and maybe a 30 day or 90 day or two year or whatever time limit makes sense. But wine? Someone somewhere in the supply chain has to know that TCA has nothing to do with poor storage.

I really don’t know how US wine makers typically respond, but I would think that most of them are not going to stiff someone if a cork is bad. But if the wine maker is not the owner of the winery, that’s a little different. Again though, everyone I dealt with in Europe was definitely interested in cork issues.

And then you have the guys like Larry for whom corks are less of a problem.

[Chris_Blum]

Well if Brian won’t out the winery, I will…

Buyer beware!

[Mike_Wenzel]

@H Wallace Jr

The no return for corked bottles from a retailer still doesn’t make sense. In most (maybe close to all) markets a retailer can bill back corked bottles to the wholesaler, and then the wholesaler bills it back to the winery.

If a customer paid by card within 6 months it should be possible to find their purchases through their POS system or authorize.net

If true what is the justification for the winery not replacing the bottle directly with the customer? Amazing to me a winery would take a stand on this for what would be a minimal cost to them for a fairly large production and relatively low cost wine, particularly for a long term customer of the wines. I’ve recommended the winery to others and purchased probably cases of the wine in question over the years. Policy makes no sense to me, but luckily there are plenty of other wineries to visit and wines to buy.

[larry_schaffer]

@GregT

Hardy that’s true but then they factor in the time and effort cost on top of the product cost. Customer service guy, manager, wholesale rep, his manager, back to the winery and their people. And someone has to keep that bottle in a corner somewhere in his office and remember it. So I think a lot of times the store just eats the cost.

I get that the logistics are not worth the effort to send it all the way up the chain in every case, but if it’s a faulty product, that seems pretty relevant to the producer more than the retailer. It’s not quite the same as other retail items either because wine isn’t used until it’s drunk and that may be years down the road. So you buy a tool or clothes or something and the stuff is faulty and maybe a 30 day or 90 day or two year or whatever time limit makes sense. But wine? Someone somewhere in the supply chain has to know that TCA has nothing to do with poor storage.

I really don’t know how US wine makers typically respond, but I would think that most of them are not going to stiff someone if a cork is bad. But if the wine maker is not the owner of the winery, that’s a little different. Again though, everyone I dealt with in Europe was definitely interested in cork issues.

And then you have the guys like Larry for whom corks are less of a problem.

Do wineries or distributors usually ask for bottles back from the retailer? I truly have no idea but would hope not . . .

Cheers

[Dave_English]

Even if it goes through 20 hands in 10 years, a corked wine, is a corked wine. From the time it was pushed into the bottle at the winery it was stuffed. Irrespective of where it was sourced the winery should replace it.

Why even involve the retailer/wholesaler just go back to the winery it is their product. (this is for local wines, overseas ones are a bit more difficult, then it becomes the retailers problem)