Bottle storage conditions

[Mallerstang]

Does anyone have experience with wine that's been stored in less-than-ideal conditions after bottling?

I started a batch of blueberry wine (using fruit) 14 months ago, and bottled it 5 months ago. I kept half the bottles and gave the other half to the friend who provided the fruit. My half have been stored in a cool dark basement. The other half, regrettably, have been stored near the kitchen ceiling in a warm apartment, and more recently near the floor in a room with cat litter and cat food bowls nearby.

My friend has recently changed her mind about weird home-made fruit wine, and has given her bottles back to me. Will the high temperature and proximity to nasty smells have had a noticeable effect on the wine? I'm torn between drinking it and pouring it out!

 

[buckhorn]

Since you know how your bottles have been stored, the best way to find out how much of an effect there was, is to open one of the bottles and compare it to one that you have stored under your "control" conditions.

 

[Mallerstang]

Thanks Buckhorn - I agree, I could do that, but I'm a bit squeamish about the cat smell and wondering if anyone can tell me, from experience, what I might expect?? Can odors like that permeate through the cork? Does heat really wreck a wine?

 

[jgmillr1]

As you are only looking at 5 months, I would not expect a major impact to the bottles for the temperature difference between a cool basement and a normal-temperature room. (Leaving the wine in a car in Arizona on a sunny day is another matter though.) Odors can permeate cork but the diffusion rate is quite slow. It would be good to wipe down the bottles to remove any dust that may harbor residual odors. A neutral odored environment is certainly preferred.

As Buckhorn says, you have a control to compare the non-ideally stored wine against. Bring your friend back over and pop a couple bottles! You've got nothing to lose.

 

[lukebuz]

Really dude? Come'on. Get liquored up, and pop a few bottles. You know, alcohol has the tendency to lower inhibitions about things like squeamishness...