"Deadend" wrote:

So these two bags were still sealed, and I opened one up (looks like a
gross to me) and they are nice looking corks, not composites, or
composites with cork discs on each end, but solid corks. So I've been
thinking about using them, but then I thought to myself, "Well, what
if they weren't from an out of business vineyard? What if they were
tossing these because there was something WRONG with them? Why risk my
wine on them?" But I then thought, "Relax, don't worry, have some
homemade wine. They're probably OK."

Any way I can tell? I smell them and they smell...well...like corks.
They look...you know, like corks.

Plus, two gross would almost get me through this year's run. Free
would be a good price.

Since this was a vineyard/winery, and not a cork-manufacturer, it is
unlikely they would discard defective corks. They would send them back to
the supplier/manufacturer for a refund. Wouldn't you? Remember, it wasn't
just two bags, it was a whole dumpsterful!

Similarly, if they were the wrong size, or had the wrong imprint, they would
have returned them, or found a buyer.

On the other hand, why would they have discarded them just because they went
out of business? Surely they could have found a buyer in the
Marin/Napa/Sonomo area? Maybe they were in a hurry to get out of town?

You say they look ok and smell ok. Measure the diameters of a few corks. Are
they out of round, or the wrong size for a standard bottle? Squeeze them. Do
they crumble? Are they radioactive? If you can't find anything noticeably
wrong with them, why not use them? If they were in sealed bags, and even if
they were not, and microbial or organic problem would probably be visible by
now (assuming several weeks since you discovered the treasure).

Also, don't assume that dumpster has been emptied. If they went out of
business and couldn't pay all their bills, it may not have been collected
yet. I'd drive from SF to Eureka if it meant saving a few thousand dollars.
Even if it's empty, you could always visit another winery.

Did you happen to notice if they had a Lugano destemmer hanging around
looking for a good home?