Q: Can't you return a defective bottle of wine? I opened a bottle that tasted badly corked, so I closed it up and brought it back to Costco, where I bought it. They refused to replace it, and pointed to a large sign saying state law prohibited them from giving me an exchange or refund.  Is that true?

A: No, it's not true. It's the store's choice whether to take back a bad bottle -- just as it's your choice whether you want to buy your wine from a retailer who won't.

Admittedly, lots of people -- even some retailers -- are confused about this. The reason is simple: under normal circumstances, you can't take back any alcoholic beverages for refund or exchange. You buy it, you own it. That's Michigan law.

But there's an exception. I call it Catch 31 -- otherwise known as Rule 31, Section 436.1531 of the state Liquor Control Commission's regulations. It says that an off-premises licensee (that's a retailer to us non-lawyers) may take back an alcoholic beverage that is "demonstrably spoiled or damaged" for exchange or a refund. That law took effect back in 2000.

Notice the word "MAY". That gives the retailer some wiggle room -- the state doesn't require them to take back bad bottles, but they can if they want to. Of course, a retail store that doesn't accept defective returns may decide to pass the buck and blame state law instead of their own consumer-unfriendly policy, figuring that most customers don't know any better.

But now you do.

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