We are continuing our study of the sixth chapter of Tractate Bava Basra, and before us is Mishnah 3 - another Mishnah dealing with the sale of wine.
"Hamocher yayin lachaveiro vehichmitz" - if one sells wine to his fellow and it sours:
Reuven sells wine to Shimon, and the wine spoils and turns into vinegar. We must first understand: nowadays, wine that has soured is considered waste, whereas in the time of the Mishnah, vinegar was used for many purposes - for cooking, for dipping bread, and as a spice. We are not dealing, therefore, with a worthless product, but rather a case where the wine no longer fulfills its function as wine, and this is not what the buyer asked for at the time of purchase.
The division of responsibility between the seller and the buyer:
The wine remains in the seller's vessels - if the wine soured while still in the vessels provided by the seller, the buyer can claim that he was sold defective merchandise.
The buyer poured the wine into his own vessels - if the buyer poured the wine from the barrel into his own private jugs and took them home, the seller can claim that his wine was fine, and the spoilage was caused by the vessels: perhaps they were not clean, perhaps they were left open, and the like.
For this reason, the Mishnah rules that the seller "eino chayav be'acharayuso" - is not responsible for it - he is not obligated to replace the wine, since he can claim that the spoilage is not his fault.
"Ve'im yadu'a sheyeino machmitz, harei zeh mekach ta'us" - and if it is known that his wine turns sour, this is a mistaken purchase:
If it is well known that this seller's wine tends to sour - due to how it is prepared, stored, or kept - this is a mistaken purchase. The buyer was unaware of this and was misled, since he asked for wine that does not sour, and therefore he is entitled to a full refund.
"Ve'im amar lo, yayin mevusam ani mocher lach" - and if he said to him, "I am selling you spiced wine":
'Spiced wine' literally means wine to which spices have been added, and some explain it as an idiom for especially fine, high-quality wine.
In this case, "chayav leha'amid lo ad ha'Atzeres" - he must guarantee it for him until Atzeres - there is a reasonable expectation that high-quality wine will last a long time, and at the very least until the festival of Shavuos, which is the beginning of the summer. The regular procedure was to harvest the grapes near the festival of Sukkos, press them for wine immediately, and it is supposed to last throughout the entire winter. In the heat of the summer, wine tends to spoil, and therefore this time limit was established. One who purchased spiced wine and it soured before Atzeres - it turns out he was misled, and he may demand his money back.
Higher levels of quality:
"Yashan" - "Mishel eshtakad": Wine harvested last year, meaning not this past Sukkos but the Sukkos before it, and now entering its second year. Such wine, if stored properly - in an underground cellar, as was their custom - is of higher quality, and is therefore expected to last until the following Sukkos.
"Meyushan" - "Mishel shalosh shanim": Three-year-old wine, which was harvested two years ago and is now in its third year. It must last until the arrival of Sukkos time, which is essentially the beginning of its fourth year. This is the timeframe required for aged wine, which is of particularly high quality.
Beyond this, they did not typically keep wines, since the wines in those days, due to their production methods, did not last for such a long time, unlike what is common today.