I started collecting when I was... now I'm...

Always wondered about the variety of ages and circumstances that inspire us to collect.

Personally, I started collecting in 2007 when I was around 30 (holy shit it’s been 10 years).
Sea Smoke was my epiphany wine.

~2k bottles in the collection.
Buying has shifted to quality over quantity.
I wish I got into Burgundy earlier because now it seems like one has to be a zillionaire to buy even some of the village wines.
I’m only on about 5 “lists”.

Started nearly exactly 11 years ago when I was 26. Now 37. Bottle count currently at an interesting 999. Like you, I’ve recently tried to place a greater emphasis on quality over quantity; I’ve had middling success with that so far.

Got the bug in 1978 when I was 22 but didn’t have long-term storage.
Started collecting seriously in 1985 at age 29 when I had a place to store and age them properly.
Now I’m… you can do the math… too old to buy young wines that need long-term aging.
(But I do have a couple cases of 2016 Bordeaux futures on order. My last. I promise.)

I began to take wine somewhat seriously in college but didn’t start my collection until I was a 3L in law school, at the age of 25. I bought my first small wine fridge while a first-year associate. That was approx. 10 years ago. Now I have approx. 600 bottles. Unlike many, I was focused on Burgs and old-world traditionalists from the start.

2006-22 a month or so before I turned 23
2017 turned 34 today.

I started drinking jug wine in college and got serious after when my best man at our wedding whose mother was in hospitality suggested we get a better quality for our reception. That was over 50 years ago. I bought to drink until about ten years ago when I discovered CT and WB. I’m on the end of the journey and try not to collect anymore, but still buy more than I need though it is all drinkable within a reasonable time.
I keep telling my kids to drink up, but they do not want to upset dad and buy their own now as does my wife. It’s hard to win anymore.

Started at 16 collecting bordeaux and rhone. Moved away from these 2 regions 10 years ago and got caught up in the burg mysteries.
33y old today with cellar of over 1200 burgs

20
56

Happy Birthday!!

#1 C Fu

I started tinkering in college in the 80s, but really buying in the late 90s.
I turn 56 in early Dec.

Just like me! (but I’m a little older )

I think the nicer word is, “tenured.”

32, 44
4000 bottles and scratching my head…

14 years ago when I started ‘serious’ wine collecting. The journey began 20 years ago, when I was 44. I went from 6 bottles, none over $25, to 36 bottles ranging in price from $15 - $40. What a rookie. I found the parker boards, then Wine Berserkers. These days, I’m buying much less (wife retired). I have my fair share of Bedrock, Carlisle, EMH, Maybach, Myriad, Quivet, Paumanok, Sojourn. and schrader. I’m not complaining.

One last thing; and I should post in Todd’s thread, my cellar is down to 196 bottles from 250 last year. I’m trying to be a good boy.

CT shows I started in 2005 with a 1991 Beringer Reserve Cab at the age of 41, now 53, with 1600 bottles, primarily focused on quality. Love the cellar mix with the one exception of Cali Pinot, which I have grown to hate and still have 100+ bottles.

Starting: I’d guess that I actually started “collecting” wine when I was 28 or 29…it was right after I got out of the Army and I was settling into my life, going to college.
Pricing Epiphany: My first epiphany was that wine was worth more than $25/bottle. That was a $33 bottle of 2002 Joseph Phelps (leading to my decision to “collect” a couple bottles of Insignia.
Wine Epiphany: Was either the 1995 Musar or the 1976 d’Yquem…both in the summer of 2007.
Collecting: I think my first real “collector’s wine” was a 6 pack of 2002 Joseph Phelps Insignia after I saw the wine on the cover of a Wine Spectator. At $85/bottle I was happy with my first call. My second choice was a 2003 Leoville Barton not long after.
Now: Now, I like to try to keep my collection around 500 bottles (it’s at 650-ish). I feel very fortunate to have gotten into Burgundy “just in time” around 2002 and feel that I did the same with Piedmont & Champagne. Prices are higher…but I feel like I made the shift from quantity to quality relatively early on…and that’s the most important shift for me. Looking at my cellar I might have 2-3 cases of wines I’m “meh” about…and at this stage in the game that feels like a pretty good balance.

Danced around collecting in the late 90’s when I was mid 30’s. Got serious in my mid 40’s. Now mid 50’s.

Started collecting seriously around 30, now 59.

I also started focusing on quality over quantity about 15 years ago. My issue now is that it seems every time I go down into my cellar to grab a bottle, unless it’s a special occasion, I look and say to myself “it’s Tuesday night, you can’t open that bottle”…I guess I just need to throw caution to the wind and start popping some of those gems more often!

I started out on Burgundy, but soon hit the harder stuff…

I began this crazy journey in 1992 at age 25. I’m almost 51 now, and have…to…stop…buying. The cellar is at 4200, and I want it back to under 3K. That means a general hiatus of 5-6 years. That hiatus may not start immediately, but there will be a hard stop at 55.

I suppose my answers are 25 and 66. I still have a 1973 Mouton that I bought that first year.