All of us hope to live forever and drink all the wine we have accumulated over our lifetimes - which in reality probably would take many lives to drink. My wife and daughter like wine (my son does not) but do not collect or have anywhere near the passion I have for the wine. And, as wine prices continue to go up, the value of my cellar is somewhat significant.
My guess is that this is true with many of us. I thought a thread would be interesting to compare what we are telling spouses, children, etc., about how to get value out of our cellars should we someday no longer be around (which I hope will not happen for many, many years).
I have suggested that my wife contact a good auction house to sell the wine. I have thought of Hart Davis Hart as one with a good reputation that should be able to sell the cellar and have given that name to my wife. I have not sold much wine ever though and really don’t know of a lot of alternatives.
So, what are your thoughts for yourself and your cellar?
I’d like to see them stay in my family. My wife is not a huge wine drinker, however I know what she likes and those bottles should stay with her. I’d leave a lengthy, lengthy flight for my daughter’s “wine education” that would span a good decade. Some for my brothers and some for a few friends.
My wife and I do not have any kids. The wine, along with everything else will be sold, with the proceeds going to care for the homeless, as well as animals with no homes.
Wine is personal property and should be subject, like all of one’s personal property, to proper estate planning documents, such as a trust and/or a will. The larger or more valuable the wine collection, the more this is true.
I wrote up a document for the SO/kids on general issues they will have to address after my demise. I included a paragraph on what to do with the wine. I expect they will keep a good portion of it, and distribute what they don’t want among oenophile friends. If you have various offsite storage units, I suggest including the details on access.
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As long as we’re on the subject, it’s pretty easy (and helpful to your successors) to update the beneficiary forms on all your financial accounts, as well as retirement/deferred accounts at employers. Print out copies of those and keep them in a safe place. Many years ago we had updated those for a relative, and a month later they passed on. Financial Institution involved - for whatever reasons - had not updated the computer system that records this even though they were in possession of the physical forms. Fortunately, we had saved the original time stamped copies, and were able to get that fixed. If we had not had those it would have been a real issue.
I asked my wife to hold a memorial service or a reception at our house, and all my friends will be asked to take home a bottle of wine. That should get rid of at least two bottles.
Phil Jonex