Filling a cellar for wine/food pairing.

Hello all!

First time poster here, so go easy on me. :slight_smile:

I am in the process of building a cellar that will hold 800+ bottles, and currently my Cellar tracker account breakdown by region is:

France 64.1% Bottles (59) / Value $1,893 / Average vintage 2007.7
Bordeaux 56.5% Bottles (52) / Value $1,567 / Average vintage 2007.3
Alsace 3.3% Bottles (3) / Value $50 / Average vintage 2013.0
Rhône 3.3% Bottles (3) / Value $255 / Average vintage 2012.0
Burgundy 1.1% Bottles (1) / Value $21 / Average vintage 2014.0
USA 12.0% Bottles (11) / Value $640 / Average vintage 2013.0
California 12.0% Bottles (11) / Value $640 / Average vintage 2013.0
Portugal 7.6% Bottles (7) / Value $178 / Average vintage 2000.8
Douro 7.6% Bottles (7) / Value $178 / Average vintage 2000.8
Canada 5.4% Bottles (5) / Value $231 / Average vintage 2010.8
Ontario 5.4% Bottles (5) / Value $231 / Average vintage 2010.8
Italy 5.4% Bottles (5) / Value $97 / Average vintage 2011.4
Veneto 2.2% Bottles (2) / Value $46 / Average vintage 2011.0
Trentino-Alto Adige 1.1% Bottles (1) / Value $19 / Average vintage 2014.0
Puglia 1.1% Bottles (1) / Value $32 / Average vintage 2008.0
Italy 1.1% Bottles (1) / Value $0 / Average vintage 2013.0
New Zealand 2.2% Bottles (2) / Value $28 / Average vintage 2014.0
South Island 2.2% Bottles (2) / Value $28 / Average vintage 2014.0
Spain 2.2% Bottles (2) / Value $36 / Average vintage 2009.0
La Rioja 1.1% Bottles (1) / Value $13 / Average vintage 2009.0
Andalucía 1.1% Bottles (1) / Value $23
South Africa 1.1% Bottles (1) / Value $15 / Average vintage 2009.0
Western Cape 1.1% Bottles (1) / Value $15 / Average vintage 2009.0

My type of wine breakdown is:

Red 79.3% Bottles (73) / Value $2,763 / Average vintage 2007.9
Red 72.8% Bottles (67) / Value $2,606 / Average vintage 2008.4
Red - Fortified 6.5% Bottles (6) / Value $157 / Average vintage 2000.8
White 20.7% Bottles (19) / Value $355 / Average vintage 2011.6
White 9.8% Bottles (9) / Value $156 / Average vintage 2012.7
White - Sweet/Dessert 5.4% Bottles (5) / Value $102 / Average vintage 2009.4
White - Sparkling 3.3% Bottles (3) / Value $54 / Average vintage 2013.0
White - Fortified 2.2% Bottles (2) / Value $44

As you can see, I am completely overdoing it in bordeaux (and possibly reds in general), and the whole purpose of the cellar was to have great wines for ALL foods. I am at 92 bottles, and obviously don’t want to buy 100s of bottles at once, (my wife will not allow it), but I DO need to diversify so that I can start having the wine needed for any (or most) dinners I cook at home. My question is what wines would you suggest that I buy to round out my current collection so that I have some on hand for most dinners (e.g. grape, region etc. and what percentage of each would be good to have in a cellar).

I know this is a big question, and I appreciate anyones comments.

Welcome Dylan,

Your question is so personal that it is impossible for a stranger to answer it.

What do you like to cook?
What do you like to eat?
What wine+food combinations do you like?
Which wines with which meals have excited you?
With sweet wines do you prefer salty or sweet foods?


The list goes on and on…

Eric Asimov from the NY Times wrote about this recently:

i think it was discussed in the Wine Talk forum. Obviously it’s very personal and the original article was meant to be a jumping-off point for further discussion, but I thought it was a very interesting starting point, esp for a wine newbie like me…

Thanks so much for the article Fred! I will check it out.

I totally get what you are saying Henry, and you are right. I think that since I have been SO focused on bordeaux I have failed to keep expanding my palette and am hoping for some jumping off points, or for some things to try. The article that Fred linked is a great start. I like the way it gives some concrete examples. I have spent quite a bit of time online trying to find really basic info, and just thought I may as well tap into all of the knowledge right here.

One of the problems that I have is that my wife and I eat almost everything, and other than big cabs with red meat, white wine with fish, and Sauternes with Roquefort, I feel like I am running blind (which isn’t bad) I would just like a bit more direction.

Maybe I should have named the post: What is the best pairing you have ever had!

Fantastic article Fred, Thank you very much.

glad you enjoyed the article. I dug around and found the thread where people were discussing it:

most of the posts were on the wines themselves and not so much on the pairing aspect, but still, an interesting discussion, esp from a value point of view.

Really appreciate it Fred!

More Champagne! Champagne is not celebration wine, it is food wine. It goes with so many types of cooking. The same can be said for Riesling.

Thanks Robert! I am thinking more whites as well.

More Alsatian reisling, Italian/Piedmont reds, burgundy … Combination of those three will tackle any meal.