Help reducing of my Cali releases-allocations

This is a spin off of a recent thread and I want to get your opinion on what allocations-wine clubs I should drop.

I am looking to make some room for the future and also move more into old world wines.

Colgin (dropping due to prices)
Daou
Dakota Shy (not dropping)
Kata (?)
Checkerboard (?)
Williams Seleym
Sea Smoke (?)
Carter
Bond
Harlan
Scarecrow
Venge
Carlisle
Turley
Patrimony (Daou’s spin-off)
Limerick Lane (? Prices are increasing!)
Bedrock

Thanks in advance for your input…

B

1 Like

I would drop the ones I like least and / or would have the easiest time finding. And I would keep the ones I liked.
Daou and Sea Smoke I just don’t like and would never have joined. But then, I never joined any lists anyway.

Bill what kind of wines do you like to drink? Varietal, ripeness, age etc. Folks might better be able to help if they knew more about your drinking preferences.

At the risk of being labelled a heretic, I see no reason to be on Carlisle, Turley, Limerick Lane AND Bedrock. Skinny that down to two.

Yeah, lots of overlap and lots available at retail here.

My preferences have evolved over the years but I generally like Cab based wines w/ lower alcohol content (less than 14.9) and my wife likes the heavier-extracted Pinots. I have seen a move away from zins and petite sirahs but I do appreciate their good QPRs. It’s hard to find good cabs under 50. That’s why I keep them around.

At this point, I donate and-or share a good portion of my cali wines and I tend to see others appreciate Highly extracted cabs more. (I keep the bordeaux for myself :slight_smile: ) Plus calis are affordable and accessible fillers for the wine room.

Good point…I need to check the local wine ships to see how accessible they are locally and eliminate a few from there.

I’d reduce it down to these two. As you didn’t list any other wines that you weren’t willing to keep. Start drinking & enjoying what you have. If you’re thinking of shifting to the old world, and your buying list was already as large as you listed…this will ensure that you have a smooth shift and you don’t wind up with cases & cases of wines you have no interest in. You’ll need room for some of the longer lived wines like Barolo, Barbaresco, and others…

Dakota Shy (not dropping)
Scarecrow

FIFY

Hilarious, you’re going to reduce mailing lists by buying the wines locally instead at retail vs
mailing list prices.

I would consider these factors:

  • How much you like the wine (duh) and any emotional attachment you have to it.
  • If you drop the list, how hard is it to get back on? Scarecrow is years, but I heard Harlan isn’t long at all right now.
  • Availability at Retail / Markup if available. Take shipping into account (some labels charge a lot!).

If narrowing down, I would keep:
Carter
Scarecrow
Dakota Shy since you locked that one in

Then keep 1 or 2 of:
Carlisle
Bedrock
Turley
LL

Turley’s shipping is pretty high, and I can usually get a few bottles locally near direct pricing, and LL is getting pricey. Bedrock subsidizes shipping once you hit 6 bottles and Carlisle’s shipping isn’t bad, at least in CA.

Wines aren’t always cheaper direct from the winery, particularly when you factor in shipping costs. It can be easier to restrain yourself when buying retail, especially when dealing with wineries that have extensive mailing list offerings for a couple of reasons. Shipping costs tend to be less per bottle when ordering higher quantities, so there is a financial incentive to buy more. Also, there are usually fewer options from a given winery at retail so there is less fear of missing out associated with passing on wines than when offered 6 to 10 different wines in a single mailer. Retail availability makes it easy to scratch the itch for a winery’s products without having to make or sustain a commitment.

Dont see any reason to stay on Harlan, you can buy easily and no wait list.

Bill, Depends on where you live. I’m on plenty of CA lists, but think that there is really no point in being on 90% of them.

For classic Cab, MACDONALD is the best so that is one list I’ll not pass on. Other than that retail and auction is as good for almost anything.

Another nod to drop Bedrock and keep Carlisle. Also drop Harlan and Bond…save yourself a ton of $$$.

Out of his list I have not seen anything but Daou at retail and when Costco has it, it’s probably cheaper than winery. Maybe I chuckle because of regionality in the Northwest and not seeing these at retail…here Leonetti, Reynvaan, Cayuse, Betz, Quilceda Creek and others are at retail. I’m in the same dilemna, who to keep??

So far, SQN, Macdonald, Rivers Marie and a touch of Carlisle for Zin fix. Think I can drop everything else although I just added The Third Twin after passing on Next of Kyn.

Agreed. Easy call for me - I’d keep Carlisle and Bedrock.

Turley is pretty widely available and the price/increases at Limerick Lane caused me to drop off as well.

And IMHO, you could even just go with Bedrock. Releases are wide and varied, but still top shelf for classics like his Zins and old vine field blends. Great QPR’s.

Hi Bill
Do you have any friends local to you who would love to get hold of the wines on these lists? If there are, why not take a sabbatical, by sharing your allocation at cost with the friend(s). It might be especially useful for any wines that you’re unsure whether you want to drop off their list.

There is a risk worth calling out, which I’ve certainly seen on Aussie forums, where interest in Old World wines develops so fast that many regret having a large domestic holding. To mitigate this, it might be worth keeping domestic purchases to the minimum whilst you see whether this is a mere sideline interest, or a major shift in focus.

Regards
Ian

Not knowing your personal tastes, there’s nothing on this list I wouldn’t drop. Replace those Cali cabs with top shelf quality 14, 15, and 16 Bdx at half the price. Move off the Cali PN to Oregon. I might keep one of the zin producers (Carlisle is my preference), but that’s it. This post has been approved by the Wine List Freedom Council. [wink.gif]