Foodie brand merlot from cost plus world market.
Completely undrinkable yet did not appear to be spoiled.

Jan Kris. If you had it, you know what I'm talking about.

Strawberry Hill.

I brought a bottle of wine to the in-laws; I had had it before, so I knew it was good. Their wine glasses had just the tiniest bit of soap residue on them that you could only smell if the glass had wine it in. The smell is indescribable. The closest thing to it is poo. The wine tasted okay... if you could get past the poo smell.

Hatteras Red from the Duplin Winery. It was so sweet I had to spit it out.

Night Train... ugh!

I'm unfortunately too inexperienced a drinker to get past the taste of alcohol in most things I taste. Most wines taste like vinegar to me and all beers so far taste like stale horse piss. My best friend is a huge wine nerd, so she's trying to get me acclimated, but it's taking a while. We had a celebratory night a few days ago... I got a bottle of Barefoot moscato spumante from the Harris Teeter and I had to slowly sip a single glass all night.

So the worst wine I've ever had is any wine that isn't "Welch's white grape juice that got left on the counter overnight". I'm trying to learn, though...

Scuppernong wine made right here in SC is the worst wine ever. Sickly sweet, with no redeeming features. The same applies to its red counterpart, Muskedine wine. Equally terrible.

I purchased a bottle of red from a liquor store I had never been to before. It was vinegar. I returned it for another. Vinegar. A third time. Vinegar. Finally I went back and demanded my money back. The store owner actually argued with me. But eventually he gave me my cash. It was obvious that the entire stock was turned, probably because the guy didn't keep his store climate controlled. Each time I picked a different wine. They were all bad. Never went back again.

joshaw wrote:Jan Kris. If you had it, you know what I'm talking about.

+1 (case)

Wine tasting at the Biltmore Estate Winery - a gevurstraminer that SO would have been more appropriately poured over pancakes. And that was back when I actually liked sweeter wines.

Woot Cellars Monkey Second Prize.


Went all in for 3, biggest mistake in my wine-buying expirence. I dont know if it all corked/turned or what, but every bottle was absolutley undrinkable. I think I still have a case of it in the basement praying that one day it gets drinkable.

Rossi Chianti - Tasted like someone dropped a lit cigarette in it during fermentation. Sangria was pretty bad too. Oh well, t'was a means to an end at the time.

I was at a friend's home. He was a salesman for a wine distributor. It had turned putrid. the smell sticks with me to today.

And I agree about the Biltmore, Beautiful place, terrible wines.

Vina Rita Margarita, grape wine with natural margarita flavor. I did not enjoy since it tasted like a mixer! And by the way, you've had this question on Woot before!

Many Years ago, Trader Joe's touted an Australian white something. I bought a case & opened one. Tasted like skunk bathwater. REALLY BAD. Eventually poured the other 11 down the drain.

We had just moved to Michigan and were taking a color tour in the fall with friends. We stopped at a local winery and bought "cherry wine". Since our favorite wine at the time was Lancer and Mateus Rose we did not expect much. We could not even drink one glass. We still go on color tours and stop at wineries in NW MI. We really enjoy the PG's and Rieslings. Ice wines and LH Rieslings are nice too. No more Cherry wine. But the dried and chocolate covered cherries are great.

The worst wine I ever had that wasn't corked, cooked or otherwise afflicted was a cheap Bulgarian Merlot. Need I say more?

I think it has to have been the red served in first class on American Airlines domestic flight. Of course I was flying home from a week of work that just happened to include a bottle of Wellington Victory and Kent Rasmussen Esoterica PS, so there isn't much that was likely to taste good after that.

La Honda Winery in Woodside, CA They were pouring for an event at the rec center I worked at and there were 2 cases left over so I took them home. This was four years ago and I am still left with a couple bottles. The Chard was like being forced to chew on bark that had been sitting in a still pond for a decade

Boone's Farm Apple Wine. Much worse than Strawberry Hill. Thunderbird and Manischewitz are close seconds.
And no, I don't live under a freeway. Those date back to early college days.

RIPPLE,ENOUGH SAID,OR MD20/20

Well, bum wine excluded here...

It was an eight dollar bottle of 2010 Merlot I got on sale from a Dierbergs just a couple weeks ago. It was not spoiled, but it did taste awful and turned to pure vinegar in less than 3 days (properly re-corked in the refrigerator).

I think I bought a white wine from the same rack. Oh gods, which one was it?...

I'm sorry to say that I can't recall the winery or maker, but it was a highly rated and well recommended Italian sangiovese from the chianti region. Tasted like Robitussin. As soon as it hit my tongue, I spewed it out all over the kitchen sink. Nothing was wrong with it. That was just the winemakers style.

Black Cat Cabernet Sauvignon -Trader Joe's cheapo- can't remeber the vintage - if there was one.
Nearly took the enamel off my teeth.
Still the tiuchstone after 15+ years as to what an awful wine is.
Couldn't even cook with it.

I suppose the question should really specify whether the wine was 1) grape wine or 2) something else.

I have had some charming non-grape wines, they're not really to my ordinary taste, but they're often worth a small sip.

And if we're limiting it to grape wine, distinguish between wine made from 1) vinifera, 2) hybrid, or 3) labrusca grapes.

I have never had a labrusca wine I thought remotely drinkable, and hardly any hybrids that were drinkable. Truly vile stuff in my view.

Again assuming vinifera, are we limiting ourselves to wine that is 1) sound, but awful, or 2) including wine that is unsound (turned, corked, brett, etc., etc.)

I don't think it fair to include wines that are actually unsound, so:

I think for sound (but awful) vinifera grape wine, the Jan Kris offering and the Havens offering were among the worst I've had, probably in the same (infamous) league as Red Mountain Pink Chablis in the gallon jug from the late 1960s. At least the RMPC had the excuse of having been made largely from the noble Thompson seedless grape, with a bit of alicante bouschet for the color.

rpm wrote:I suppose the question should really specify whether the wine was 1) grape wine or 2) something else.

Truly, a poll crafters nightmare you are, in a very good way!

From the '60's, MD20/20, AGS, Ripple. Never could see how some loadie acquaintances at free concerts I was working drank that swill they gave me. Took awhile to find out what -real- wine could be after those beginnings.

coynedj brought an Italian bottle to a wine tasting that was actually attended by rpm's daughter. That night went down in infamy for several reasons, that all surround the host...

The nose and palate were of diapers. Diapers.

I don't remember the name, but I think it had a Giraffe or cheetah on the label.....red, smelled like cat pee when opened and tasted probably what cat pee would taste like....(no I haven't tried ha ha) Hubby, who can't tell the difference between any wines, actually thought the same as me... cat pee!!

otolith wrote:coynedj brought an Italian bottle to a wine tasting that was actually attended by rpm's daughter. That night went down in infamy for several reasons, that all surround the host...

The nose and palate were of diapers. Diapers.

My daughter fled Minneapolis for California shortly thereafter....

rpm wrote:
I think for sound (but awful) vinifera grape wine, the Jan Kris offering and the Havens offering were among the worst I've had

Oh I forgot about the Havens, that was really sad because I expected it to be rather good wine, whereas I just expected the JanKris to be "drinkable but interesting."

Jankris was my first woot. It's only because I hadn't drunk any before buying a second woot that I ever again considered wine wooting again.

I still think we should all be reimbursed for that floor polish.

richardhod wrote:Jankris was my first woot. It's only because I hadn't drunk any before buying a second woot that I ever again considered wine wooting again.

I still think we should all be reimbursed for that floor polish.

That wasn't the worst bottle to come out of wine.woot.

There was an earlier offering where, when the bottles were delivered and opened, complaints started coming in that it tasted off, watery, and just plain strange. Turns out they forgot to turn off the bottling line when they flushed out the system, and the result got shipped out to wine.woot. I think the bottles I got from that offering were just fine.

I've already talked about the worst I've personally had in the other thread, but suffice to say it smelled strongly like freshly laid asphalt. And the wine steward had the balls to claim it was natural and normal.

JOATMON wrote:That wasn't the worst bottle to come out of wine.woot.

There was an earlier offering where, when the bottles were delivered and opened, complaints started coming in that it tasted off, watery, and just plain strange. Turns out they forgot to turn off the bottling line when they flushed out the system, and the result got shipped out to wine.woot. I think the bottles I got from that offering were just fine.

I've already talked about the worst I've personally had in the other thread, but suffice to say it smelled strongly like freshly laid asphalt. And the wine steward had the balls to claim it was natural and normal.

Hmmm...wonder if that was the La Vie vineyards pinot noir duo from 6/07? Those two bottles were AWEFUL wines, and probably the worst wine.woots I purchased...

Ménage à Trois Moscato in a blind taste. Spit it right out. I have poured out corked bottle worse than that junk.