dropping old lists only to join new ones???

i was thinking about this as i ordered 3 bottles of tench the other day
i successfully dropped schrader, harlan, marcassin, aubert, bond, araujo, colgin, kapcsandy, blankiet, saxum, pride reserve, and probably 2 dozen others over the last few years.
so now why am i buying new ones? i know i can get pretty much everything i need without lists (and find them largely a pain in the ass) but i read this damn board and find myself back where i started. well, not really anywhere nearly as deep as i was, but still.
anyone else in the same boat?

I had the same situation 5 or so years ago. Vowed to get off the lists and I have stayed off. There’s still a handful of wineries I buy direct from, but they are not lists as such - I have flexibility.

It comes down to priorities and willpower. In my case I prioritized wanting to allocate my spending towards trying new producers/regions much more broadly. Since I’ve done that I haven’t come across a list wine I ‘have to have’. There’s just too much good wine out there.

buying wine has quickly become an addiction, others say passion

Once you let go of the fear of being dropped if you skip, you quickly realize that a bunch of wineries will still send you offers.

This way I became way more selective in what I’m buying and have no problem skipping offers. After all there is plenty of wine out there.

I still keep a few that I buy every time but because I love the wine and the financial impact us low ( MacDonald for instance)

JF

It is a little like the airlines. I was Global Services on United for a decade, and worked my ass off each year to make sure that I qualified. When we decided to make Scottsdale our full-time home, I wasn’t able to keep the status since United flies a very limited schedule from here. Once I got over it and started being a free agent with respect to airlines, it was liberating.

I keep working on shedding wine lists, but then find new wines that I want to try and end of on their lists. It is like a revolving door.

I have dropped a number of lists and reduced purchases from others. I may not get offered everything now but that is ok. I already have too much wine so I need to reduce anyways. And like others, it allows me to buy more European wine.

Stay strong. Like many on here, we have caved many times to temptation and hype (which is generally valid and on point)…

I am down to 5 (Daou, Dakota Shy, Bedrock, William Selyem and Turley) and trying not to cave and add Carter and William&Mary…ugh!

I have been rebalancing my purchases, as I have enough of some things, but would like more of others. Drop several, then add a few. The total is still decreasing.

I dropped so many lists, but find myself enjoying wine more. #buyingwide.

I keep getting those allocation emails and saying to myself “ah its only 6 more bottles, I’ll get through them” and forgetting about the ginormous amount of wine I already need to get through…I definitely need to shed lists! Damn that FOMO gene.

Your rule should be…If you sign up for 1 new list, you MUST drop off 2 old lists

So many of the wines that I used to buy from lists are available (in plenty! of volume) in the secondary market at prices below original release. Often 30% below, even 50% below if you are wise with sales, coupons, etc. Yes there are exceptions (MacDonald, Ridge Monte Bello) but they are very few.

Plus, you almost never get removed. I am “on the list” of several dozen wineries that I haven’t bought from in a year or in several years (or ever) and I still get offers for every release.

For me the real problem isn’t getting the wine I want. It’s that I buy too much wine. Any strategy that leads me to buy less is a healthy one for me. I buy when I want.

No. Keep only what you need, want only what you can keep.

Yes, frequent flyer programs work on the same principle as wine mailing lists.

When we bought our house we were pretty sanguine about shedding our lists to reclaim some cash flow. We only have a couple now and they’re ones that, like others said, you can’t get cheaper in the secondary market, we will drink through, and don’t drop us for skipping. There’s so much wine out there that instead of lists we just have a wine budget and have been putting it towards what our interests and goals are. Last year’s goal was socking away 2015 N Rhones/2016 S Rhones/2008 Champagnes while they were available and locking down a good stable of cellar defenders. That box checked, we think this year’s goal is trying to explore aged Burgundy within reason as good opptys present themselves in the secondary market but we’ve not come across tons thus far, so we’ve just been buying more Champagne. We don’t miss anything we’ve passed on in the slightest and it feels good to see our cellar moving in the direction we want it to.