Separating my wine made things worse

I triaged about half my cellar into four groups a few months back and intend to do the same with the remainder. For a while it worked great usage wise. No cataloguing needed, just sorted by function. But now I have storage issues. The dilemma is #4.

1. High end wines ready to drink now. This is what I take to tastings and restaurants. They are set aside.

2. High end wines not ready to drink or fragile and old. These are in under-65 degree offsite storage.

3. Midrange wines not ready to drink. These are home at room temp in a dark place stashed away. Classic example a $40 post-2008 pinot or syrah.

4. Lower end wines, plus any midrange wines ready to drink. I have a lot of these. A lot. I started moving them today to regular commercial storage for now. They are mostly mixed cases. But I looked in the cases. Here is the problem. I saw that almost every bottle I saw, I would rather drink than how several of the high end wines I opened last weekend in Lompoc turned out. Really good satisfying wine. “Low end”, not attractive to auction houses, but still better for my palate than 95 percent of what is in most restaurants and better than many of the older high end wines I open.

5. I also have a few bottles separated for when I need that particular bottle. Champagne, sweet wines, wines that I open with relatives (birth year or the wine shares the same name), and old Ridges for Ridge picnics.

I live alone and I’ve been cutting down on drinking at home alone. Practically stopped. No reason I just like it better.

Doing the math, I need to sell some wine. And buy almost none ever again.

I love wine and have no intention of easing up on bringing wine whenever I am with friends.

Now what’s my storage/selling/drinking strategy?

You can send some to me.

George, Victor really prefers #4, btw. You can claim an insurance fire for #2 and send those bottles my way, but you deserve to keep #1 and enjoy them now.

Where do you live and when can we have an offline??

That is a tough situation to be in, but some of these ‘lower-end’ wines may have more stuffing and carry-on power than you might think, so it might be rash to sell too much-too soon. Also, there is no shame in bringing these wines to get-togethers, no one will look down on you for it.

easy solution. Separating your wine made things worse. Mix it all back together and live in ignorant bliss again.

Open every bottle and start slow-ox’ing them. That’ll force you to drink the ones you really want.

I knew I could come here for great advice and compassion.

You know it! That’s what we’re here for!

If the Ridge ever needs a good home, let me know.

Most of my wine is also in your Group 4 - stuff that’s not really ready and not that appealing to auctions. What I spend to keep it at Domaine is a lot. Hope most of those bottles age well. More importantly, hoping I don’t succumb to being a label whore in the meantime.

Invite more friends over to open casual bottles. No matter what you paid for it, it is still just wine, and it is meant to be shared…

Assign each wine slot a number
Buy one of those large carnival game of chance wheels
Any time you need a bottle for the evening…
WHEEL
OF
DESTINY

You need to figure out how many wines you want in each category. If you are enjoying your low end wines more than your high end wines (groups 1 and 2), it would make sense to sell off some of the high end wines as (a) they will be more attractive to an auction house and will net you more money and (b) you will enjoy your wine experiences more. This seems to be a relatively simple win-win.

OK tonight is the lower end wines. A clean correct pure Grenache R from Bonny Doon at half price followed by a mealy diffuse very highly rated $20 Vina Real 2010 nope. Total cost less than $50 and one of the wines engaged my brain. Not the one the critics liked.

I found today two 1976 Musignys in my triage. Very little chance either is impressive. Who wants to drink this duo with me near San Jose/Los Gatos? They look…um… nobly compromised.

George, here’s the thing: neither of us has enough evenings left in our lives to be drinking crappy wine on any of them.

In today’s triage everything Australian not made by Ringland goes into the low end ready pile. I could assemble quite the Aussie tasting. Kilikanoon leading the way. 98 Maxwell cab and Block 6. San Jose CA area.

But…but…history! The Vogue looks particularly awful.

Tonight wonderful sharp clear Bonny Doon grenache at half price sale and highly rated indistinct mealy diffuse 2010 Vina Real. Each under $25.

George, invite friends for a hearty and simple, but well made dinner. There is a plethora of fantastic dishes that the peasants ate. Do what the Europeans do; cook up a simple meal (huge pot of pasta comes to mind) and have a bunch of non-snob friends over to enjoy company and breaking bread. Life does not get any better.

George, imagine…

1. What you would advise someone else to do and do that.

2. Ask yourself what would be the most fun, no fiscal issues allowed, and do that!

Heck, do like what Jay Hack does for noble causes and make raffles for charitable causes and send money to your favored charity and the wine to fellow Berserkers!

Time to take action with the wines that are old and fragile.