Page 13: Mornington Peninsula winery Cups Estate suing over allegedly botched wine

Mornington Peninsula winery Cups Estate is suing two winemakers, claiming they botched $400,000 worth of its 2023 vintage pinot noir.

Cups Estate said the wine could not be ‘remedied easily’ and in a reasonable timeframe.

There’s no point crying over spilt milk, but spoiling a whopping $400,000 worth of vino would certainly be a reason to turn on the waterworks.

That’s the case for the team behind The Cups Estate in Fingal, on the Mornington Peninsula, who launched civil proceedings against winemakers The Story Wines and Latitude 38 Winemaking after its 2023 vintage pinot noir was allegedly contaminated back in March.

Now if there’s one golden rule when indulging in a little afternoon tipple that, perhaps carries on well into the evening, it’s not to mix your beverages.

But it’s claimed that around March 2, workers at Latitude 38 Winemaking spoiled 5,500 litres of wine when they allegedly mixed a “large amount” of sauvignon blanc into a steel tank which already housed the pinot noir.

The Cups Estate on Mornington Peninsula says 5,500 litres of 2023 vintage pinot noir was allegedly contaminated by the winemakers.

The alleged mix-up took place without supervision from the team at The Story Wines.

One might wonder why two winemakers were involved in the deal in the first place - simple.

According to court documents, Latitude 38 entered into an agreement with The Story Wines to store the product at its Dromana facility as the latter was in the process of setting up its own winemaking site in Moorabin.

Though it’s easy to poke fun, the reported $403,000 loss in delicious product for The Cups team is certainly no laughing matter.

Sadly, it seems the concoction is not headed to shelves but instead the drain, with the plaintiff stating its wasted drop could not be “remedied easily” and in a reasonable timeframe.

So, here’s a toast to the wines we’ve loved and the ones we’ve lost.