Wednesday, October 15, 2008

I recently opened 2 bottles out of a shipment of 6 bottles of French Didier wine and it was bad.
I have not opened the other 4 bottles but expect the same problem. My other Didier wine that I
had previously ordered from you is fine. Please tell me what to do in order to get a refund or return of these 6 bottles. I would like to continue to order this wine or similar sulfite free wines but worry that it does not ship well or have a long "shelf" life. Please advise.

Thanks,
Jim W.
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Hi Jim,

There is no telling what will come out of the other 4 bottles unless you open them! Since I don't know what can be the problem on the first 2 that is impossible to guess. Corks come all mixed up in big bags and therefore cannot be just bad in a given case (unless the whole 1,000 or 10,000 are bad for instance which may also happen!). One could imagine that some shipments have encountered more heat than others which might explain the situation. In any case it would be silly to return these bottles: either they are good and you can enjoy them or they are bad and you can throw them out just as well as we can and without paying a second shipping charge! So try them out and we will resend or refund you the number of bad bottles, it's that simple!

This wine will be discontinued not because it's bad (because it has been exceptionally good for an NSA wine) but because the wine maker is dead! We have only a few cases left of it so grab what you can since we guarantee it anyway. NSA wines are certainly more prone to turning bad than sulfited wines and that's the whole problem. And what happens when they do? Well, it's a financial disaster! As you mention you worry about their shelf life. Imagine when you have a container load! That is why we stick to wines with a reasonable protection with a low amount of sulfites, that's the best of both worlds.

Dr Mic

Monday, October 13, 2008

Dear Michel,

the most recent order was shipped and received promptly. I wish there were a way to reuse that beautiful packing material and not waste it, but I can't see how.

There is a problem this time: The first bottle I opened was a Bousquette '03, and it is bad. I think the cork must have been bad as it is like vinegar. The second bottle is drinkable, but it isn't as good as I remember from before, like it is starting to go off. I guess I have to make my way through this case and see how the others are.

Herbert
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Dear Herbert,

Just keep track of the number of bad bottles and next time we will replace them with the new vintage. Remember our unconditional guarantee! It seems that this 2003 did not last as much which in a sense was expected due to the scorching temperatures of that year. But it may also be a cork problem. Vintners and particularly organic winemakers are caught between going natural with the usual natural corks which, because of the high demand tend to create problems no matter the price you put on them (mind you, they range from a few cents to a dollar a piece!) and going with other modern closures (screw caps, synthetic and reconstituted corks etc), which encounter resistance in the public and worries about their innocuity. A never ending problem!

Best to you
Mic

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

I've returned to your web site and am unable to verify ppm on any of the wines. Am I missing where it is listed? If I do order, it will be on occasion not on a monthly basis.
Linda
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You are not missing anything. I have simply stated a ballpark figure for the wines in the Sulfites section (30 to 60 for the reds, 60 to 80 for the whites, 100 for sparkling).
Beyond that, tracking sulfites levels in each bottle is a major headache, knowing that they change virtually at each new bottling, not just each vintage! And the difference are significant in numbers though insignificant in my view as an indication for you. Why? Because they measure the Total sulfites and never the active part which is the one protecting the wine and at the same time potentially harmful. This you never get. Therefore you can have a high total sulfites number with low active part and the reverse. In reality there is little information that can be derived from looking at the number only. Knowing that organic growers have a maximum allowed of 100ppm and that they thrive to stay well below is enough. Then it is your own reaction to the particular wine because there are literally hundreds of components in a wine that effect the way sulfites are absorbed. It is a very complex chemical interaction that no measurement will be able to analyze better than your own body.
drMic