Do You Know Where That Bottle Has Been?
A few years ago, a grey haired, plump, wine wholesaler got lucky. There had been a fire at a large storage facility for wine, destroying much of the inventory. However, some of the bottles weren’t near the main fire, suffering only a minor rise in temperature and smoke damage. This man knew he could capitalize on the situation, but one thing would have to go right to make it worth his while. So at auction day, he made a bid, for all of it, penny’s on the dollar, and he won. His only stipulation? Disclose this wine as being near a fire with a temperature increase before selling it. He looked over his inventory smiling inside, Silver Oak, Caymus, Opus One, all with labels in tact, and no requirement to take them off (the thing that had to go right). So he went to work, restaurants, hotels, showing the bottles off. “Fire damaged? Here, allow me to offer you a taste from one of the bottles from the lot, how about this Silver Oak.”
Needless to say, he sold the entire inventory and made a huge profit.
Right now, similar wholesalers are getting ready to bid on a huge lot of wine from New Orleans, the bitter effects of Hurricane Katrina. No flood damage, just a power outage that rendered temperature control systems helpless.
Soon, the wine from the fire in Vallejo may be sold off, and the bottles may be just fine, as a little heat for a short period of time may not be bad. However, considerable heat could render the inventory completely lost. Authorities will decide. If it is deemed palatable, would you be willing to buy some of this wine?
The Chronicle’s Blake Grey dives into the subject.
Read [SFGate.com]
