Heat effected wine

[wiggum]

I have just bought some of the Murdock wines on special just before xmas. Sent out straight away . Silly me - I forget to tell them to send it when gets a little cooler. At the time of transport it was in the vicinity of 38degrees and Melbourne was the same the next day. Anyway dropped off and then inspected to reveal that just about all the bottles have been cooked and the corks compromised with gooey tops etc. I have had 3 of them and they are stuffed. I have been trying to phone Murdock to arrange some sort of exchange, credit etc.

My 2 Questions are;

1) Where do I stand in relation to claiming compo/exchange/sending out drinkable wines etc, and

2) Is Murdock having some sort of business trouble (hence the pre xmas deals) as I have tried phoning almost everyday for a couple of weeks without getting through and they haven't returned my e-mails.

Any advice
Thanks

[pokolbinguy]

You are deffinatley within your rights to a new case of wine to replace the damaged stock. Also if they want the damaged stock back they should pay to have it picked up etc.

Did they send it with Aus post??? if so there is insurance built into their postage costs...he winery can claim that it was damaged in transit (which is most probably was) by sitting in a cooking truck, warehouse etc.

If I was you I would jump on the net and grab the weather reports for the days it was in transit (just so you know it was stinking hot), contact the winery and tell them you received the wine in damaged condition.

They should replace it with no fuss, oh and they should have been smart enough to not send i in that heat, they should know better. I know at the two cellar doors I work(ed) at we never send/sent wine when it was hot...not worth the risk!!

Good luck.

[wiggum]

Yes thanks woodwardbrett. Just what I thought. I am really struggling to get onto anyone there via any means. I may as well just pack them up and send them straight to them with a letter in the box. After all I can't exactly do anything with them. And then hope they do the right thing.

[n4sir]

Yes thanks woodwardbrett. Just what I thought. I am really struggling to get onto anyone there via any means. I may as well just pack them up and send them straight to them with a letter in the box. After all I can't exactly do anything with them. And then hope they do the right thing.

Personally, I'd wait until I get hold of them via phone/email first. It's been the the holiday season so I'd maybe cut them a little (OK, maybe a whole lot of) slack and assume maybe they've just missed your correspondence. Sending it via the same slackers who possibly fried your bottles in the first place without any advance notice seems like a recipe for disaster. In a case like this, it's really a case of trying to get hold of somebody and telling them exactly what you've outlined above - I think you've got a solid case, but I also think it's wise to tell them of the problem first before mailing anything off.

Cheers,
Ian

[Daniel Jess]

Yes, you should expect replacement or at least a refund.
Yes, it's holidays so everyone has been away but more importantly it's vintage time
and most winemakers and their people are busy like mad getting ready for vinification and grape harvest!

Try again by phone next week and once by email if they don't respond. You should at least get some response by then.

Good luck...!

[daz]

I dunno, the wine was despatched as ordered. The OP admits to failing to request the wine not be transported until the weather was more suitable. I can't see that the winery has much, if any responsibility for it arriving as it did. Now the winery is expected, it seems by all and sundry, to replace wine that was sent in good faith and most likely in good condition, as it was contracted and paid to so do. The only saving grace here is that the winery may wish to engender good will for future purchases by the OP. Don't blame the winery for your own mistake. "What about me? It isn't fair, I ****** up but it's not my fault?"

Put it down to it a being learning experience.

daz

[Bick]

I dunno, the wine was despatched as ordered. The OP admits to failing to request the wine not be transported until the weather was more suitable. I can't see that the winery has much, if any responsibility for it arriving as it did. Now the winery is expected, it seems by all and sundry, to replace wine that was sent in good faith and most likely in good condition, as it was contracted and paid to so do. The only saving grace here is that the winery may wish to engender good will for future purchases by the OP. Don't blame the winery for your own mistake. "What about me? It isn't fair, I ****** up but it's not my fault?"

Put it down to it a being learning experience.

daz

Not sure about this. Take a more extreme example - you order groceries for delivery, including some meat for the bbq and some ice cream. You expect them to deliver in relatively cool conditions, don't you, not just chucked it in a hot van at any old temperature and allowed to go bad? You wouldn't accept it. There's an expectation that goods will be kept/stored/delivered in appropriate conditions before you take ownership, and are therefore "fit for the purpose" at the moment you receive them. They should be in good condition when you get them, not just sometime before you get them; you've not taken ownership until they hit your doorstep, surely. I don't see how this is very different to some of the bottles breaking during delivery, and thinking well, sh#t happens mate, that's delivery guys for you. The only counter to this, perhaps, is if they've delivered them appropriately to your property and they've then cooked before you've discovered the package. I'd still query why they were left in the sun to boil.

[Luke W]

If you buy wine through Cellarit they will tell you that the insurance does not cover wine cooked in delivery, so it may depend on the insurers or whether Murdock cover their own insurance (as many wineries do). Best of luck with this, it's a constant problem with deliveries up here in CQ.

cheers

Luke

[Daniel Jess]

Agreed - it depends on the winery and the distributor (if it's Aust Post, winery should have insurance anyway).

I received a cooked bottle (moderately expensive burgundy) from a well known auction house (not Aust Wine Centre, obviously !). I didn't bother sending it back or seeking recompense, rather, I just cracked the bottle and enjoyed it that night! It was still fine. For some reason, even the over-heating of some stronger reds (chemically stronger, I mean, not flavour-wise) seems to only cause problems after the bottle sits for some time after the event. I have no idea why - I just know that the bottles I drink straight away after being "cooked" are still ok! Call me crazy...

(waits for the bites to start)

[wiggum]

Geez Daz - ever heard of a bit of sarcasm. I am referring to me when I say, "Silly me - I forgot to tell them to send it when it gets a bit cooler." I would have thought this goes without saying for a professional mob who distribute a fair ammount of product and which no doubt understand the impact of heat on wine particularly when one of their products is sealed with cork.

Harsh lesson to learn if all of a sudden it is my mistake and all of the dozen ($480) are stuffed not just one or 2. If it was a dozen cheapo cleanskins etc this woudn't be an issue.Daz i wish the wine gods look after you when get your tahbilks delivered, especially when you get the chairmans selection.

By the way I still can't get onto any staff at Murdock via any means. Anyone have a contact number i may have better luck with?

[Tristram Shandy]

I'm in Adelaide and I bought a some Epis pinot noir from Boccaccio last summer and they shipped it right in the middle of a heat wave in both Melbourne and Adelaide. The bottles arrived, to my dismay with the capsules pushed out a bit by the corks. Very worrying for a wine that I wanted to put down for a few years. I contacted Boccaccio and they happily paid for the return freight and sent me a new lot of wine. I thought that Anthony d'Anna acted in a very professional manner. I would expect the same from any decent supplier of wine.

Tristram Shandy

[Eurocentric]

I just lost a case of damned expensive riesling ... I thought I told the warehouse guys not to ship to Perth until I had my monthly pallet together for my WA agents, cos then I send it refrigerated. They sent it solo via Aus Post, it took 4-6 days, and apparently seven were leaking on arrival. The replacements will be going on a pallet at 13C and the leakers, well, the agents can drink them. They might be OK ... but Perth will only get deliveries once a month from me for now on in the warmer months. Brisbane is a worry too ... hell, the whole country seems so hot these days. Maybe I will only ship April to September!