consumed within a week of its purchase.
People grab a bottle along with the fixings for
that night’s dinner. Or they stop by the liquor
store and purchase a gift bottle on the way to
a friend’s party. While there’s nothing wrong
with this purchasing behavior, such quick
consumption does limit the ability to enjoy fully
aged wines. And many wines definitely
improve with age.
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I use the term collection in a general sense, because some drinkers’
collections may consist of only a small number of bottles, whereas others’
may grow to include hundreds or thousands of bottles. Any wine collection
needs to reflect the specific drinker’s tastes, space and budget.
Space Invaders
My first wine “collection” was a small tabletop rack that held twelve bottles.
That was more space than I needed, as I usually had one bottle in the fridge
and kept only two or three bottles in the rack. I still have that original rack. It
sits on one of my two 54-bottle cabinets in my wine closet. I also have a 48-
bottle wine fridge, several cases stored off-site and a 72-bottle rack that I
use more for decorative purposes rather than long-term storage. Clearly,
wine is taking up more of my home space than it did in the past. But even
with the extra capacity, my collection still feels small.
The first thing someone should consider when planning a collection or even
buying more than a few bottles is what their storage options are. Many
wines will improve with age, but only if properly stored. Improperly stored
wines can deteriorate quickly. The primary enemies of wine are heat, light
and vibration – with low humidity another potential problem.
Cellars were originally built to minimize the impact of these things, and most
basements work fine as well. Of course not everyone has access to a real
cellar or even a basement, so improvisation may be needed. I know people
that keep wine under their bed, in closets, and even in dresser drawers.
As long as the temperature is fairly consistent (55 – 65 is best) and you’re
not frequently moving the bottles, you’ll be okay. I don’t recommend storing
bottles in your fridge over the long term, as most are too cold. And DO NOT
store wine in those custom racks that seem to be installed above the fridge
in all of today’s new homes. They are a triple-whammy with light, heat and
vibration in one.
Of course if you have expensive bottles that you plan to hold for many years, I
highly recommend getting a small wine fridge or using an independent
storage facility. The fridges allow you to control the temperature and off-site
facilities are worth the price – usually $1-$2 per bottle per year – for
expensive wine. Otherwise you’ll end up with expensive vinegar.
Budget
Now that you know how many bottles you can store, think about how much
money you’re willing to put into building your collection. Most of my wines
cost under $20, but I do have more expensive bottles that I’m aging for future
drinking or holding for special events. Good, age-worthy bottles from
Bordeaux, Burgundy, Napa and Italy will cost more. And these are all wines
that you’ll want to buy young and then hold to the proper drinking age.
Drinking Patterns
Assuming you have the room and funds for more than a dozen bottles, you
need to consider your own drinking habits. Here are some questions to ask:
• How many bottles do I drink per week?
• Which grape varietals do I most enjoy?
• With which foods do I primarily drink wine?
• Where and when do I drink wine?
• How often do I entertain guests?
• Do I prefer wines young or with more age?
Thinking through these questions will help determine what types and
quantities of wine should be in your collection.
Making Your Selections
Obviously each person’s answers to the previous questions will be different
as will their storage and budget constraints. It’s my experience that a typical
person needs to have at least 50 bottles for their collection to have breadth
and diversity. You might be able to get by with fewer bottles if your tastes are
focused primarily on just red wines or just white wines. Here is a suggested
breakdown for a typical 50-bottle cellar:
4-8 bottles champagne and sparkling wines
6-10 bottles everyday whites
6-8 bottles special event whites
8-12 bottles everyday reds
6-12 bottles special event reds
8-12 bottles aging reds for future drinking
4-8 bottles dessert wines
Obviously your own collection should reflect your responses to the earlier
questions and thus your own drinking patterns. Also, make sure to include
wines from outside the U.S. It’s hard to imagine a good collection that didn’t
include Australian, New Zealand and French wines in addition to American.
If you have the space, budget and interest for a larger collection, you can
expand the variety of your holdings by geographically and by grape type. For
example including red wines from Spain, Italy and Chile provides added
breadth and opportunities for comparison tasting against U.S. and French
wines. Adding whites such as Riesling and Gewürztraminer will make it
easier to appropriately pair wine and food
Keep in mind that buying wine in full cases will result in lower per-bottle
costs and allow you to enjoy the wine as it ages. My advice is to age the
wine until the first year of recommended drinking and then try one bottle per
year until it reaches the point that you feel it’s fully ready for enjoyment.
Keeping track of a 50-bottle collection is not particularly challenging. A
simple spreadsheet or handwritten log can be used to maintain your
inventory. Larger collections usually require a more sophisticated system
for inventory and drinking guidelines, but that’s a topic for another time.
Following these guidelines will help you build a collection that meets your
everyday and special event drinking needs. And it may spark an interest in
building an even larger collection over time.
Note: I would welcome your comments regarding your own collecting
activities or questions on the topic. I also can help with specific
recommendations for those in the process of building a cellar or collection.
Click here for more regarding Cellar Consultation Services.
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