Trove Offers To Pay Medical Bills After Their Wine Triggers Acid Reflux
We approach wine in a bag in a box with great caution. So does reader Karl, who only purchased a box of 2005 Trove Chardonnay from his local Kroger supermarket after reading uniformly positive reviews. The wine was so acidic that it triggered acid reflux that sent Karl running to his local doctor.
Bringing it home, the first glass had a bunch of sediment, and the wine was VERY acidic -- my girlfriend didn't drink any of it because it burnt her throat. I, on the other hand, needing a good drink and possessing the intestinal fortitude of a bull, drank a few glasses.Though Trove's unexpected offer to pay Karl's medical bills is impressive, we are still going to limit our consumption of wine in a bag in a box to art gallery openings.The next day, I took myself off to the doctor's office. My acid reflux was so bad that I needed to seek medical attention.
Since I'd read such good reviews, I was amazed to find this bad of a product. I filled out an online form on their website explaining the problem. The next day, a woman from Trove contacted me and offered to send me a check for the amount I'd paid for the wine, a prepaid shipping box to send them the bad wine in, and if I needed to I could file a claim for the doctor's visit. Since the latter didn't cost me anything, that wasn't a problem ... but I sure do appreciate that the company took time to give individual attention!
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Comments:
The acid was burning my throat, but I continued to drink it anyway
No, because this sounds like bacterial contamination in the wine...
Even CHEAP wine shouldn't be that acidic. They probbaly wanted the box back to figure out just how this happened.
@ry81984: what nweaver said.
at least the company is responsible enough to check out what's going on instead of brushing off the issue.
Ever see red and white wine vinegars at the store? Yeah, vinegar is what happens when wine goes bad, and was probably what happened to that box 'o' wine. For wine less than about 10 years old, usually it indicates a problem in packaging (such as the use of a box). Over that, any bottle of wine can go bad, which is why fine restaurants have you smell the cork and drink a sample.
@huadpe
I'm not sure what you mean by "a problem in packaging, such as the use of a box". Boxed wine is probably better protected than some bottled wine - inside the box is usually a giant foil/plastic bladder, which provides more protection against air than a bottle with a cork in it.
Hope you enjoyed your reflux, booze-bag. Just couldn't pass up the opportunity for alcahol, huh?
I assume this wasn't your first glass of wine. Here's a tip, if it doesn't taste like wine, don't drink it.
Still, that was mighty nice of the manufacturer to cover your ass for you.
The other day a friend told me that consuming four glasses of wine is a mitzvah.
So don't be too hard on Karl -- maybe that was what he was doing. Mazel Tov to him and to Trove.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go work on a mitzvah on my own. ;-)
This guy's got reflux because he's an ALCOHOLIC, not because he got some bad wine. He knew it was bad but 'needed' to drink it anyways?
@homerjay:
Homer Simpson is criticizing how somebody drinks??
What is HAPPENING in the world? Hahahahaha!
Always have some litmus paper on hand when drinking wine.
Not too bright of him. Hmm. His girlfriend at least knew what was up.
@HungryGrrl: Bit of a stretch to say alcoholic. My acid reflux, I control by diet rather successfully....and I don't drink.
WTF? Has the Consumerist been invaded by AA all the sudden? I honestly thought I would look at the comments and find someone thanking him for not suing like it seems everyone else does today.
The "burned her throat" thing is probably an exaggeration. The "needed" a drink phrase is a common figure of speech meaning, "I'd really like a drink."
Consumers, in the US anyways, have the expectation that if it's on the shelf, it's safe. Lots of time and energy is spent on making sure it is, so that's not a bad assumption.
Thanks, Karl, for your example of how to act like a reasonable normal human being.
Karl is a bad consumer and he should be ashamed of even thinking this is the wine companies fault.
Why would you drink any alcohol if you have acid reflux???
This wine company should have told him to go F*CK himself.