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Question: Bought a bottle of red wine, i think it's corked?

(Posted by: GEGE63 on 2010-01-17 09:17:41)

I bought a bottle of 2004 red wine, when i opened it there were crystals on the cork and a thick rim of crystal in the neck of the bottle. Is it safe to drink?

Posted by: Gerry G on 2010-01-17, 09:35:51

The crystals are not a sign that the wine is corked. It should be just fine to consume. If the wine were corked, there is an unmistakable musty smell from the bad cork. .

Posted by: bevis45 on 2010-01-17, 09:21:03

Get it necked.Should be ok

Posted by: Marten H on 2010-01-17, 09:22:07

Yes that's normal. When a wine is corked it smells and tastes awful - you can't mistake it.

Posted by: Shane on 2010-01-17, 09:22:36

I would take it to a proctologist first...DRINK IT!

Posted by: old know all on 2010-01-17, 09:31:19

Yes. These deposits are normal in an old red wine. Decant the wine into another bottle (or a carafe or decanter). Pour in one go without turning the bottle back to the upright position. Leave about 1cm behind in the bottle (or the wine will go cloudy). If it looks good and smells good, it's OK - enjoy it. Corking is very rare these days. It's caused by a fungus in the cork and it makes the wine go cloudy and smell awful. A lot of wine is sold in bottles with synthetic corks. The people who grow cork trees keep them infection free. (Yes I know corks don't grow on trees - they're made out of the bark)

Posted by: origamimark on 2010-01-17, 09:44:31

It should be fine, unless tastes of vinegar, in which case it is off.

Posted by: kimbo on 2010-01-17, 12:44:21

No its not corked as it would smell like rotten cabbages no it is just something the sometimes happens with red wine and its natural you may need to decant the wine by pouring into another container put it through a tea strainer and that will get rid of these crystals and now you can drink your wine this used to be a common thing with red wine and that's why we have decanters its more common with a good quality red wine that's old or has been aged so nothing to worry about