When to Return a Bottle of Wine

If you buy a television and it doesn't work, anyone understands that's reason enough to return it or request a refund. The same goes for finding a fly or cockroach in your food at a restaurant. And forget about a hotel reservation where the promised conditions aren't met. With wine, however, things aren't so simple.

Let's suppose that upon opening a bottle, it has somewhat foul aromas, or there's sediment at the bottom, or it simply doesn't taste good—or so it seems to us. The first reaction might be to go to the wine shop or ask the waiter to replace the bottle. But more likely, we'll get into a pointless argument because no one really knows all the defects in wine, and only a handful of very serious ones qualify us for a replacement or a refund. These are the equivalent cases of a broken television or a dish with an unwanted insect as an ingredient. And these are the main ones:

Spoiled Wine

Of all wine defects, this is the worst. It happens when the product is attacked by aerobic bacteria which, after a rapid decomposition process, transform the wine into vinegar. Since it's a matter of degree, it's important to have a keen nose: if the aroma of a wine is reminiscent of red apple peel, nail polish remover, or plain vinegar, and it's dominant, that's reason enough to reject the bottle. And no one can argue with that. Furthermore, this defect is often accompanied by a cork that has leaked wine, adding further evidence.

Corked Taste

Wines that sometimes have a pronounced taste of wet cardboard, cork, or mold—and all of them together, too—are known as "bouchoné" or "corked." These wines are completely discarded. If there's any doubt after smelling them, just take a sip, and the unpleasant taste will become dominant. If this is the case, you are obligated to exchange the bottle.

A Sparkling Wine Without Sparkling Water

There are good sparkling wines and wines whose corks fail to do their job. And while they are few, it is possible that in some of them the bubbles have dissipated and, even if poured immediately, they will not produce any bubbles. That is more than enough reason to return a bottle. The problem, if it's not at the restaurant, is that the wine shop clerk won't believe us. Basically, because the bottle gradually loses its fizz and, when you bring it back a few hours later, they may think you are deceiving them. In that case, it will always be one person's word against another's.

However, there are many cases in which we are tempted to demand a refund for a wine, and, deep down, it's simply a matter of poor choices. It happens more often than defects, and generally speaking, it can be summarized in the following examples:

Bottle with Sediment

It is typical for some red wines, when they have been in the bottle for some time, to have salt crystals at the bottom. These are natural precipitates from an evolving wine, so there's no reason to complain about them. Even if they leave your mouth feeling like you have a handful of sand in it.

Foul Aromas

Most unpleasant aromas, like cabbage or rotten eggs, can be removed from a wine with good aeration. If they don't dissipate after a good swirl, it's most likely time to change the bottle. Never before.

Marked Astringency

This often happens with young wines, which offer a dry and sharp sensation in the mouth that isn't pleasant. If this is the case, there's not much you can do but accept it, because you made the wrong choice.

The Burning Wine

It often happens that we're given a red wine that burns the mouth. In this case, it's usually enough to chill the bottle a little—to around 16ºC (61ºF). If this sensation doesn't change with the chill, it's likely that the bottle was definitely a bad choice. And there's not much you can do about it.

Article developed by iberoWine