Countdown To Fifty

An informal survey of co-workers, clients and friends has revealed a common thread regarding wine collecting. It seems that 40 marks a time when many folks develop palates for wine. They have moved from a predominantly mixed drink or beer preference to red wine. Along with that, many (most?) begin to get the wine collecting bug.

I know first hand that this phenomenon struck me at just about the same time. One day I woke up and decided to start amassing a wine collection. It began with a determination to get some 1997 California Cabernet’s into the newly purchased EuroCave. One important note: ALWAYS get a wine storage unit larger than you are originally shopping for. Don’t believe me? Ask any friend, family member, total wine collecting stranger and they will tell you the exact same thing! I bought a 170 bottle unit that, in reality, comfortably holds 100 bottles. There are now another 30 cases stored 0ff site too.

From there, as this was 2000/01 and the 1997 vintage on the shelf was getting harder to find, I found myself spending way to much time and money at winebid.com. For those unfamiliar think about it as the eBay of wine. You identify bottles or cases that interest you and bid away. Of course there is a winebid charge and a shipping charge to absorb. In addition, though they act as middle man and take possession of the wine from the seller and transfer it to you, there is no way to know with 100% certainty that the wine has been properly stored by the original owner(s). That said you can fire up a collection pretty fast using this method.

Part of the mini immersion in wine for me was to start subscribing to:

• Wine Spectator
• Wine Enthusiast
• Quarterly Review of Wines
• Wine Advocate aka Robert Parker
• Connoisseur’s Guide to California Wine
  

All of this reading begins to give you just enough education to be truly dangerous to you wallet.

Speaking of dangerous – wine clubs are just that too.

Over the years I have been enrolled in clubs (always reds) from Justin, K&L Wines, and Vintners Collective to name a few. My preference is for a club from retailers. In this way you can sample wines from different wine makers and wine regions. That’s the upside. The possible downside is you begin to automatically receive too much wine. When the EuroCave is full, and the hall closet is too, you might need to reevaluate the number of clubs you belong to.

In part 2 I’ll elaborate on the perils of collecting “cult” wines.