NEWS: Cork Crisis at Cayuse

[Jenise]

Today's emails to customers:

Since 1997, we at Cayuse Vineyards have been dedicated to creating world-class wines. We are committed to biodynamic farming and our mission is to produce wine that is the best possible representation of our unique terroir. We simply will not release a wine that doesn't meet our rigorous standards.

Earlier this year, in preparation for the May bottling of many of our 2015 wines, we purchased the highest quality corks from our long time supplier. Despite taking every possible step to ensure that we are crafting the best wines possible, during bottling we discovered paraffin particulates caused by faulty corks.

We stopped bottling immediately and we contacted the cork supplier right away. They told us they knew what the problem was with the first lot of corks and they assured us we could proceed with bottling the rest of the wines using a second separate lot of corks.

After bottling, we checked periodically to be certain there were no problems and to see how the wines were developing. When we discovered the presence of paraffin and an oily film in the wines bottled with the second lot of corks we decided to bring in industry experts to help analyze the wines. Their analysis included a Military-Style Protocol Sampling which confirmed the entire bottling was defective. We agree with the conclusions of the experts and as a result we will not be releasing any of the wines from our May bottling.

We have been working diligently with our insurance company to ensure that each customer receives a full refund for the following wines as soon as possible:
2015 Bionic Frog Syrah
2015 Cailloux Vineyard Syrah
2015 Camaspelo
2015 En Cerise Vineyard Syrah
2015 En Chamberlin Vineyard Syrah
2015 Flying Pig
2015 Impulsivo Tempranillo
2015 Wallah Wallah Special Syrah #8 Magnums
2015 Widowmaker Cabernet Sauvignon
We are devastated at the loss of these wines which includes 2,995 cases (750ml) and 2,678 magnums. As you all know, there is considerable anticipation for the 2015 vintage from Cayuse Vineyards and the wines were outstanding prior to that bottling in May. In March, just two months before that bottling, Jeb Dunnuck of The Wine Advocate tasted barrel samples of these wines and scored them between 93 and 100 points. We are extremely disappointed to have produced such beautiful wines that we are now unable to release.

Not all is lost. The rest of the 2015 vintage (bottled in August 2016 and July 2017) remains pristine. The following wines will be distributed, as planned:
2015 Edith Grenache Rosé
2015 Cailloux Vineyard Viognier
2015 God Only Knows Grenache
2015 Armada Vineyard Syrah
2015 The Lovers
Cayuse Vineyards is passionately committed to creating world-class wines. We thank each of you for your ongoing loyalty, support and understanding. We know that you share our disappointment. Obviously this was beyond our control and we're very sorry.
We really appreciate your ongoing trust.

[David M. Bueker]

Buddy of mine is on the list. This was supposed to be the first time he got the Bionic Frog. Oh well.

[Jenise]

Wonder who the cork manufacturer is and who else will be affected.

[David M. Bueker]

That will be a subject of endless speculation, debate and eventually recrimination. Wineries that ever used corks from the manufacturer in question will be piled with scorn and likely abandoned in droves for the temerity of releasing a wine with a "suspect" cork.

This is the way of the Internet.

[Robin Garr]

I don't know about the way of the Internet, but the way of litigation generally has more checks and balances. I assume that this will end up in the courts.

I was a little surprised they didn't name the "long-time supplier," though. Failing to do so leaves all the suppliers open to Internet speculation.

Had a chuckle at: Their analysis included a Military-Style Protocol Sampling which confirmed the entire bottling was defective.
Hope these were not the same guys who worked on the F-35!

[David M. Bueker]

Excuse me?

(Says guy who works on the F-35 program, and who knows the news reports are wildly inaccurate.)

Excuse me?

(Says guy who works on the F-35 program, and who knows the news reports are wildly inaccurate.)

So the planes CAN fly in the rain?

[David M. Bueker]

They can do that plus many other things we are not telling you about.

They can do that plus many other things we are not telling you about.

So would this be an an example of a wildly inaccurate media report?
http://www.pogo.org/straus/issues/weapo ... phans.html

It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it. - Upton Sinclair

[David M. Bueker]

You have already made up your mind, so no point in my trying to change it, but yes, it's inaccurate.

That being said, your original comments regarding sampling have exactly zero to do with any issues on F-35, and were laughable at best.

Let me know if you want to debate sampling methodologies. I am more than a little bit expert in that field.

David,
My original comment was just meant to be a light-hearted riff on what many Americans think about the wasteful nature of military procurement (with the F-35 lately serving as a whipping boy) not a serious comment on sampling methodologies. We are straying far OT, so let's just drop it.

[David M. Bueker]

Drop it?

From how high? How many times?

A really sad outcome for the winery..

They used two different cork consignments, both that Cayuse.deemed made the wine unsaleable.

Seems improbable the cork manufacturer produced just two affected batches which both ended up at the same winery.

I wonder how many other wineries are using corks from the same producer with the same fault?

The thought also crossed my mind on reading We are committed to biodynamic farming whether their commitment extends to the corks, which are, of course, farmed ...

[David M. Bueker]

I did not know Cayuse was into voodoo farming.