abandoned bottles of wine

I just rescued a dozen unopened bottles of wine that were abandoned next to a dumpster. Five of the bottles are questionable-- the foil covering the cork is partially degraded and/or rusted. I don't intend to drink those.

But the other 7 bottles are in good shape. Perhaps a little dusty, but the integrity of the foil and cork is fine. In terms of age, all of the vintages are in the early 2000s (though one is from 1984). I don't recognize most of the brands, but the brand I do recognize (Forestville) is low quality.

I'm trying to conjure up a rationale as to whay anyone would abandon a dozen bottles of wine. Perhaps the person (or their family member) is trying to sober up and quit alcohol, but didn't want the wine to go to waste. Or perhaps the wines were exposed to heat or sunlight, and the person figured the wine had soured. Or perhaps the person decided that these low quality crappy wines not worth drinking.

So what's your advice: should I drink them or dump them?

I think the odds are very low you will actually get sick. But when you open the bottles, see if you can identify one of these six odor defects. If it is pronounced, then don't drink the wine.

You can speculate until here to doomsday why they were thrown away. Odds are the person was not a wine drinker or very adverse to risks, and they found some bottles. More than likely you will be rewarded with a glass of inexpensive wine you got for free.

We went through six common wine odor defects. Once you know them, you'll be able to smell them right away.

Oxidized -- The wine will smell like a sherry, and may smell stale, nutty or even like burnt marshmallow or stewed fruit. The wine's color can offer a clue too. Usually an oxidized wine will be turning a shade of brown -- brick red for reds, and golden to tawny for whites. An oxidized wine can mean it was subjected to hot temperatures, was not stored properly or was exposed to air. If you order a wine by the glass and it smells a little stale, ask how long the bottle has been open; it's probably been a few days. Not good. Keep in mind a newly opened bottle can also be oxidized.

Volatile Acidity -- Does that glass of wine smell like vinegar or remind you of nail polish remover or Easter egg dye? Volatile Acidity (also called VA) is the culprit, and it is a bacterial spoilage.

Sulfur -- I had a strong reaction to this glass, and it wasn't a good one. Stinky and offensive, hydrogen sulfide has the unmistakable scent of rotten eggs. While sulfur is used in winemaking to prevent microbes and bacteria, overuse or improper use can cause it to form hydrogen sulfide or dimethyl sulfide. (Not to be confused with sulfites.)

Brettanomyces -- For years I've heard the term "brett," and that some people love what it does to wine and others do not. But I didn't know what the heck it smelled like until this class. Think of cherry cough syrup, Band-aids, or smokey, barnyardy or horsey aromas. I'm told a sweaty horse blanket is a ringer for brett. Brettanomyces is a yeast spoilage. Old world wines may have a tiny amount of brett that some wine drinkers covet. You can also find brett in some Belgian Trappist beers

Cork Taint -- I know what a corked wine is. But I am still surprised at how many of my friends and family don't know it when it's stinking up their glass. This means that the wine's been spoiled, or tainted by a chemical called 2,4,6-trichloroanisole, or more commonly TCA, that can develop in cork. When I smell corked wine, it's wet newspaper, dank basement, wet shaggy dog and musty. While the wine won't hurt you if you drink it, it's not a pleasant beverage because the cork taint will mask fruitiness. Open another bottle of wine -- odds are that even if it's from the same producer it's not corked. But get a new, clean wine glass. The corked odor hangs around even after you've dumped the wine out.

Sulfites -- Get a matchbook and strike a match. What you are smelling is sulfite. Sulfur dioxide is a sulfite, and a common antioxidant added to wine, to prevent bacterial contamination. You may get this odor from a newly bottled wine.

If you find any of these flaws in your wine glass, dump it out, send it back.

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On rare occasions people get lucky. Someone may be cleaning out a deceased grandmother's closet, and unknown to the grandchild, grandma has been preserving an expensive bottle of wine, mixed in with some rotgut.

Chair purchased for $5 turns out to be worth $150K

I agree. The circumstances are that there is very little chance of intentional poisoning so all it is is simply an opportunity for you to get for free that which is not worth very much to begin with but has greater allure than a free loaf of bread or something.

It was probably found in someone's basement recently and was dumped. So its free mediocre wine.

Anyone having put a hypodermic needle through the cork would either have a specific target in mind or would have stayed around to watch his handiwork. Perhaps someone tried to poison a bum but even the bums wouldn't take the risk?