An article on Decanter.com this week discusses the temperatures in stores where wine is sold. In particular, the article is referencing England. Here in the United States, we also seem to have difficulty guaranteeing that wines will be kept in a controlled environment.

As one winemaker said to me, “I can almost guarantee that the wine is good when it leaves the winery door, but not what happens to it once it leaves.” What happens if the truck breaks down on a hot summer day between the winery and the delivery point?

You have probably noticed that wine stores vary a great deal. Some are established to just sell wine and beer off the shelves. Others are knowledgeable and seek to have their customers return time after time. They are concerned about protecting the quality of the wine.

On the downside, we became aware of a store that did not have air conditioning in one room and yet was storing bottles of wine there that were worth several hundred dollars. It would be sold to some unsuspecting customer.

How do you protect yourself? Whether you purchase wine in a grocery store, liquor store or winery, if it has a wine fault, return it. Wine faults include wine that has an aroma or taste of rotten apple, glue, vinegar, soap, onion, cauliflower or moldy cardboard (cork taint.) After tasting the wine, if it has a fault, return it to the place of purchase. Leave the rest of the wine in the bottle. It looks a little suspicious if you return an empty bottle saying it’s corked or has some other fault. Where did the wine go? Just because you don’t like a wine doesn’t mean it has a fault. It’s not fair to others if you return a wine just because you don’t like it. What do you do when you discover you have purchased a wine with a fault?