Legal Rights from defective product

[mcsocfce]

I purchased a bottle of wine directly from a local winery and placed it in my wine rack. Nearly a month later, while out one night, the carbonated bottle of red wine blew the cork and shot across my kitchen and dining room. The professional damage estimate for the wine penetrating the oak cabinets, not counting individual unattached items, came to $2000. Do I have a valid claim on my hands to sue the winery for the amount of the damages due to what is assumed a poorly corked bottle?

There was no disclaimer with the sale of the wine. When initially called, the manager of the winery said this happens all the time in their store room, but didn't think it would happen in someone's home as well. They are willing to compensate a couple cases of wine, but $500 in wine won't repair the $2000 in damages done to my home, not to mention a damaged area rug. Please advise.


Edit: I reside in the state of Oregon.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

This is a tough call. If the manager of the winery says it happens all the time then perhaps you do have a case. I've rarely heard of carbonated wine bottles or champagne popping corks so easily and most have a wire mesh on the top to prevent this from occurring.

You can always file a case in small claims but I'm not sure what "it happens all the time" means or how they dealt with it. I'm surprised to hear that a manager would say that corks fly out in the winery but can't imagine that it will only happen in the confines of their four walls. Your challenge is proving that you didn't shake up the bottle or do anything that might cause it to loosen the cork. I'd wonder how often this has happened before and you're best served in doing some research in small claims court or elsewhere as to whether the winery is negligent in their bottling of the wine. Good luck.