The bags used in the wine kits are a 2 ply bag.  The concentrate/juice is poured into the bag, then the cap assembly is attached.  During the filling process, some of the juice can wind up between the layers of the bag.  If enough pressure is exerted on the bag, the trapped juice can leak out.  It does not take much juice to soak into everything and make a complete mess of your shipment.  Normally, the leakage should be contained by the plastic wrap, but it the box is turned upside down, the juice with leak from the top of the wine kit box and get all over everything.

When this happens, the juice is not contaminated and the wine kit is still good.  If you receive a leaking kit, examine the juice inside the bag.  Specifically, you are looking for mold or signs that fermentation has started.  Both of the these signs indicate that oxygen has entered the bag and your juice is contaminated; however, if you do not see either of these signs, the juice is still good and should not have any problems.

If you decide the wine is still good, be sure to keep the date code.  If you run into any issues along the way, we can still get the kit replaced, but the manufacturer will want the date code, since this tells them when the kit was made.  If they have a significant problem with a particular date code, they need to know about it to determine what went wrong with that batch so they can modify their processes to make sure it does not happen again.

If you receive a leaking wine kit and have any questions about it, please don't hesitate to contact us.  If there is a problem with the kit, we will replace it.