Collecting Wine
A Fine Hobby

Someone said it best. You don’t set out to be a wine collector. One day, you wake up as one. So why collect wine? Let us count the ways:

• To serve and drink, naturally.
• To display and decorate.
• Who wants an empty wine cellar?
• For special occasions.
• For wine investment.
• So you don’t have to run to the store for that last minute bottle.
• Did I say to serve and drink?

I get a little humorous above but you do need an objective. That will determine what wine to collect and how to store it. Here are some of the different kinds of wine to collect:

• Wines to drink on their own
• Wines to drink with food
• Your favorite varietals
• Wines from various regions
• Wines from your favorite region
• Same wine - different vintages
• Same varietal - different terroir (influence of soil and climate)
• Different types: sparkling wines, red wines, white wines
• Wines to save and age
• Fill in the blank _____________
• All of the above

Only you can decide how many of these different kinds that you want. But it’s fun to think about.

A note about wines to age. You can handpick quality wines that are young now and then store them away for several years. Don’t worry, there will be plenty of other good wines to drink in the meantime.

Three or five years from now, you will have a wine that is far better and more valuable than when you first bought it. Not only that, you may not even be able to find that wine in five years. A good way to do this is to buy several bottles of these wines and then open them up one at time to test how they have aged. If they have aged well, throw a party. If not, wait on the others.

This is a good way to get into wine investment. Some people will buy wines and store them away for a number of years. Then when ready, they will bring them out at auctions. I suggest that if you do this, buy some for both drinking and investment. You might as well enjoy some of that wine yourself. This is where buying by the case is ideal because you will most likely get a discount and have enough wine to test, drink, and eventually sell. Here are some additional tips for collecting wine:

• Determine how much wine you plan to drink in the near future. Include in this figure how much you drink on your own and how much you plan to serve for entertainment. This is so you do not stock up on more wine than you can drink.
• Determine how long you want your supply to last. This is in three parts.
• First is the wine you plan to drink in the near term. These are the ones you pop open after a hard day at the office or for entertaining.
• Second is the “good stuff” wine you plan to keep for awhile. These are good if they need some aging or for special occasions.
• Third is the wine you plan to store and age.

Once you determine the above, then see if you have the space for it. The longer term wine will take up so much static space. The near term wine will constantly turn over. Try to figure out how much space you need for each.

• Of course, ask yourself how much this will all cost. Keep in mind that this will be done over time and not all at once. As your financial circumstances change, so will your wine buying. When your boss gives you a raise, put it to good use. Expand your wine collection.

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