Sometimes you just can't help it...even if your a top-o-the-line wine pro. You sit down with a nice fancy bottle of wine, ready to endulge yourself in the aroma and taste, when all of a sudden something goes wrong! Of course, this sort of thing may happen more often to us wine amateurs.

I know this kind of thing doesn't only happen to me, at least I hope not so I decided to create this topic for all you closet wine ruiners.
So air out your dirty laundry and tell us how you or someone you know ruined a fantastic bottle of wine!!! I'll Start!!! :

On our way out the door on a recent Saturday night, my friend and I decide to finish a bottle of wine...Donnafugata Ben Rye Passito Di Pantelleria '00 to be exact. Rates about a 93... so it was excellent, not clasic, (I'm learning, thanks Revlis). Realized, no opener in sight, so what do we decide to do?....Take a car key and push the cork inside of the bottle, the darn thing just wouldn't come out! So there we sat, no glasses on hand either, chugging a fresh, super sweetie, with wonderful aromas of dried pineapple, caramel and butterscotch, right from the bottle...cork chunks and all. What a wine!

In reply to:

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Take a car key and push the cork inside of the bottle, the darn thing just wouldn't come out! So there we sat, no glasses on hand either, chugging a fresh, super sweetie, with wonderful aromas of dried pineapple, caramel and butterscotch, right from the bottle...cork chunks and all. What a wine!

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I'm obviously not teaching you anything!


I have failed you... and for that I'm sorry. I will begin a new lesson with you... Wine Drinking Ettiquette.

Ok ok ok.. I admit I've ruined a good bottle of wine before.
I can't remember what it was, but I know I was really looking forward to it. I opened around dinner time and decanted. It was so very closed so I walked away letting it get some air time. In the meantime, a friend called and asked if I wanted to do something.. so I said I'd be there in a few... Well it's fairly obvious to you by now I'm sure... I completely forgot about the wine... when I came home very early that morning... there was the wine... sitting on my counter.... completely over oxidized. It was terrible. Such a waste!

Yeah Rev,

Let her know that the house key always works better then the car key.

A Revlis Protege I see! A good guy to pay attention to Pumpkin!

Anyway the worst ruining of wine that I can think of was when I left a new purchase in my trunk on a winter night. (rolled out of the bag i guess ) It froze and cracked the bottle. Oh well there's always more wine kido

TCK

Oh Rev, I'm glad you have come forth and revealed your imperfections, you da best!

I went on a picnic with some 1990 Piper I had been saving. There were four of us and we were heading out to one of the West Coast beaches. It was summer and the Piper was in the boot wrapped in a chilly bag to keep it cool. Well we got to the beach and went for a swim and completely forgot about the wine until about four hours later.

Completely cooked.

I left a bottle of good cabernet in my "blue ice" filled cooler in my car while on the way to Vegas. I stopped at that stupid casino with the roller coaster to get in an hour of craps.

I knew it would be just fine with that wonderful chemical cool pack nestled against it.

I returned to the car in an hour or so and yes, you guessed it, I forgot to put the ice pack in before I left home!

It was fine as long as it was in the air conditioned car. Try leaving it in 107 degree heat for about an hour. My guess is the car was at least 150-160 degrees!

I figured there was a problem when I opened the ice chest and realized that it had a lot of purple liquid in the bottom of it. My second clue was when I touched the leaking bottle and realized that it was about the temperature of hot Earl Grey tea.

Doh!

I have not yet done anything stupid like that.

But, I have opened one too many bottles before which I end up vino-vac-ing and drinking the next night...

Late in the evening at a party at my house, I stupidly let a friend of mine grab the keys to the cellar since I was headed to bed. The next morning, I woke up to discover another guy passed out on the foyer with the front door partially open (he was trying to get outside before he hurled - he failed). On the floor of the living room a number of bottles were empty or close to empty. Most of them were no big deal but one was a magnum of 85 Latour. Ever since then, I try and keep the bulk of my cellar about 30 miles from my home just to prevent someone else (or me) from stupidly raiding the cellar late in the evening.

I just wake up after big wine nights and find great empty bottles of wine around the house that I have absolutely no recolection of drinking.

"Damn, I was reelly looking forward to that bottle. I hope I liked it."

I do this as well. After the second bottle, I always turn into "Super Host" and start pulling really good bottles out. We never give these great wines their due because we're too busy yapping.

Oh well, it's still fun!

Cheers

Washington Reds,
Boy did you hit the nail on the head!!!
The second bottle almost always causes the cellar to be opened for stuff I'd much rather taste as the first bottle!

JOnes, ouch!

WR/budman-- That is too true. I have done that way too many times, especially if the guests are wine-os like me...

Jones: With friends like that, who...

The best bottles are under Lock & Key here also.

Freud, geez man.. I hope I can attend some of your big wine nights.... hahaa

Thank you TJ for pointing out how stoopid I yam.

GA

Rev,
I keep inviting you, you just dont show up!

haha. I showed up to one! It just wasn't at your place!
I saw your lineup for the Cab Franc tasting.... Looks like you didn't Ruin any good wine there! ...

I took my youngest brother out to dinner to treat him to a great meal in thanks for a favor he had done for me. He is not a wine drinker in the least. Doesn't dislike it. Just doesn't "get it" if you know what I mean.
I told him that I would get us a bottle that would make him see the light. There on the list is a '94 Maya. It is presented, decanted, and 45 minutes into the meal, we are about to drink. He reaches out for his glass and WHAM, knocks it over with his wrist. Purple stain all over the white table cloth, and wine in the food to boot. He looked up at me with this "Iggy the comic strip character" look on his face and says: Me and wine. It's just not meant to be."

lol....tha'ts a good one! Some people lack the grace as some wines do, as I've read in some notes, (haha I've been trying to learn how to write them too). Most of my wine woes seem to somehow include the cork. Had some wine from Portugal on Monday...small cork chunk in glass, not good! I can't seem to get it together yet. Maybe I should start with wine opening lessons first lol!!

Punkinpie