Starting New

So im just getting started here. Been enjoying wine for years but never had the funds to really start a nice collection during medical school and training. I just don’t know where to start. I tend to drink ALOT of California Pinot. What I have in right now at home is Kosta Browne, Sea Smoke, Dehlinger, Williams Selyem. along with a bunch of different wines by Charles Smith and I just placed an order with Aubert yesterday. I just don’t know where to start. I cant be drinking a 70-100 dollar bottle of Kosta Browne on a random weeknight. I do like Syrah, Brunello, Cabs. Im looking to pick up a random selection of French and Italian wines to try that are on the cheaper side to see if I like them. Any suggestions?

Lots and lots to be said, but I will start small:

1. Watch Berserker Day in a few weeks. It will have crazy deals on small lots of wines you’ve never had. It’s a great ‘sampler day’ and you can watch what people say about the deals that are getting listed to get an idea of what to expect! I found it to be a great way to explore the wine world.

2. Tell us what town you are in and I am sure there will be people with good local tasting recommendations.

Others will be adding even better advice soon, and welcome!’

You have Dehlinger - that’s almost all you need

Bordeaux is still a GREAT QPR - so is Chinon, Loire, and a few Northern Rhones. Italy’s best buys are probably Dolcetto or Nebbiolo (non-Barolo/Barbaresco). Hang around here, you’ll find a number of great topics, and be careful asking what to buy, as this forum increases wine spending by about 100=fold

Welcome to the board. It sounds to me like you are already off to a start. I am not sure where you are located, but find a good wine shop and start dabbling in other areas. There are also lots of good threads on this board about affordable options in most areas. There is a good search function above. Here are some links, too:

Inexpensive Bordeaux - Inexpensive Bordeaux - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers
Daily Drinkers Nebbiolo - Nebbiolo daily drinkers? - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers

Welcome to the forum!! I’ll happily share the best advice anyone shared with me early on. Buy one age-worthy “special” bottle from every region that produces long-lived wines (for Champagne I chose the ‘96 Dom Perignon in ‘06 when I started as an example). Save it until you realize you like wines from that region. This paid off in Barolo/Brunello/Bordeaux & many other regions. Also remember, the more you taste different wines the more you can expect your palate to shift…and always drink what you love.

Kutch

If you already know that you like Brunello, you don’t need to experiment with cheap Italian wines, and I advise against it. Rosso from good Brunello producers can be a less expensive alternative. For less than you are paying for KB Pinot, you can get Barolo Normale (non-Cru) that will be enjoyable in a realistic amount of time. And for white wines, look to Chablis, still a real value for its level of quality.

Italian Red
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/2013+agostina+pieri+brunello/1/united+states

Italian White
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/2015+nals+margreid+sirmian/1/united+states

French Red
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/2015+Souteyrades/1/united+states

French White
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/le+mesnil/1/united+states

German Riesling - great values that age well and are complex
Champagne - many on this board will tell you they wish they had more

Sign up for Bedrock and Carlisle, and Myriad for starters.Best QPR wines in the new world.I second German Riesling
As well.Welcome to the Board, like Todd said you will be both richer and poorer for it.

My suggestion is invest in 375ml bottles if you will be doing most of the drinking.

Taste before you buy. Taste twice before you buy deep.

As many of the posters here will attest, what you like today may be very different than what you like in 8-10 years. So if you intend on buying for longer term cellaring, don’t overdo one sector, e.g. Sonoma pinot or Napa Cab.

Think of a balanced portfolio, like mutual funds.

I second the idea of buying some mid priced aged and resolved wines, e.g. Barolo or Bordeaux.

At this stage of wine appreciation, there’s no way you can tell if you like these types — or what they blossom into — by buying new releases of tannic-heavy wines.

If I had one area to explore and widen my palate on a budget, I’d pick the Loire.

This. And don’t listen to people on the internet

Seriously, don’t get caught up in hype. Don’t read posts about the next best/greatest wine/vintage/region and think I better get on that. Go slow. Don’t buy wines and put them away without trying any.

I second the notion that a balanced cellar is a good idea as my tastes have already shifted in a few short years - I’m far more into syrah and bordeaux blends than when I started out 7 years ago. Plus a great deal of the joy of wine is in the search/exploration. I also second the idea of subbing rosso di montalcino from a good producer for brunello. Consider beaujolais as well. I personally find it difficult to source high quality inexpensive weeknight french wines, but Spain and Portugal offer a ton of inexpensive wines with interest and character.

Finally, be selective about your mailers, as you’ll be tempted to buy something at every release. Sign up at envoyer (gulp) and winebid if you can arrange shipping to your state. And if you hate your wallet.

The best thing for me was to find a local tasting group, which has opened my eyes up to the wonders of aging high quality wine, something I think that is very hard to come by at retail.

Cheers and good luck!

If you like Pinot but don’t want to pop Kosta Browne on a random Tuesday, maybe look to Oregon pinot. For my money, quite good price / quality ratio can be found. I think in the ballpark sub-$25-$30 price range you could do pretty well with things like the folloiwng:

Trisaetum WV
Andrew Rich Prelude
Elk Cove WV
Cristom Mt Jeff
Patty Green Reserve
Four Graces WV
Sharecroppers
Montinore Estate

I unfortunately tend to have expensive tastes in France and Italy, which also means I don’t drink them as much all else equal. While different for sure, I have been pleased with some of the value I’ve seen in, say, St. Joseph versus something like Cote Rotie. Thinking of Italian grape varieties, I’ve found I can seemingly enjoy top-end Barbera for a fraction of the price that top end Sangiovese and Nebbiolo would command.

I would be careful with Cali Pinot. When your palate changes and it will these overripe, high alcohol Pinots will likely fall out of favor quickly, especially Sea Smoke, Kosta Brown and Aubert. When I first started collecting I loved those wines in stocked quite a bit. I hate them with a passion now. Still like Williams Selyem though.

I would look to Oregon and some of the more restrained producers in Cali. Peay, Rhys, Arnot Roberts come to mind.

right now i live in Winston-Salem, NC but moving to Tucson, AZ in about 5 months.

Like Anton said, Berserker Day is a great opportunity to sample a good selection of quality producers. Many great deals, with sampler packs and the like. Join here as a Grand Cru Member so you can preview and get an idea of what you’d like to try. Snoop around the related threads. Berserker Day is January 27th, so the timing is perfect.

Also, you might want to check the Offline Planner page to see if there’s activity in your area - or post and ask. Meeting other enthusiasts in your area can lead to lifelong friendships, turn you on to new wines they’re excited about, network you with other people, activities, groups…

My advice would be to lower your price point to the $15 - $35 or so range. With the advice of a good wine shop, this Board, etc. you can find terrific wines in that range. On a price / quality graph, the quality line flattens very quickly as prices go beyond $50 or so. Drink lots of different wines, start to observe subtle differences. After that it starts to make sense to spend big.