Ha! Interesting.
I must say I get no thrill from ‘hunting’ wine. I do enjoy researching wine, which is part of the process of purchasing. But not sure if that’s what you mean by ‘hunt’. I definitely don’t enjoy having to struggle to get wines, and if anything that is going to make me less interested in that particular wine.
More or less in terms of total bottles purchased: Less
More or less in terms of value of said bottles purchased: More
Age of person answering: 34
Average cost of bottle purchased: $50
How long have you been ‘into wine’: < 2 years
Still new to it but I bought way too much wine in the first year. No real regrets since I hopefully have a long way to go in life, but looking at how much I spent made me realize I should start picking and choosing wine much more carefully.
Great points, all of them.
Part of my motivation (in addition to your points and Robert’s points in post #98) is that I recognize and appreciate that my daughter (only child) loves good wine and so whatever I don’t consume in my lifetime will be left for her to enjoy in her lifetime beyond mine. I like that. 
What a blessing for your mom at age 104 (she looks fantastic)
I sometimes hear people say who would ever want to live to be 100. My answer is probably someone 99.
For 2025
More or less in terms of total bottles purhased: Way less in 2025 (um, so far…)
Went nuts in 2023-24: buying was “retail therapy” (also, fun). But kinda fatigued right now buying-wise, so listening to that and going slower
More or less in terms of value of said bottles purchased: More per bottle, especially from Fall 23-2024. Still buying a few things, but quality, not quantity
Age of person answering: 62
Average cost of bottle purchased: …cough 
Your honor, my client likes Burgundy and pleads the fifth. In 2024 I decided that Dujac stuff tasted pretty good. Hudelot Noellat and Tremblay too. Fourrier CSJ and Trapet weren’t bad either. Stop me if you’ve heard this before…
How long have you been ‘into wine’: 15+ years
Pardon while I wax philosophical
I was a lucky monkey in 23-24 and got to taste a fair sample of marquee wines at the top of the Burg pyramid (and some great Bordeaux). Now I own some too.
Paradoxically I’ve become, not jaded but lets say a little nonplussed. The angels don’t always sing. That incremental little bit of extra oomph costs many hundreds more than plenty of delicious Burgs that themselves retail for a “mere” $200/bottle. I’m not complaining, I know I am fortunate and I try always to open generously and share.
But I am starting to reassess. 23 doesn’t seem compelling, tariffs loom and the cellar is full. I don’t mind sitting on the sidelines and letting the muddy water settle for now.
Agreed - she is pretty amazing. I took her to a wine dinner a little over a year ago and she finished just about every glass poured with the 5 courses. Everyone always says you look great for 104. Our joke is what is 104 supposed to look like - in an urn!
Thanks for the response. Enjoy your time with her
Last three years, more and spending more per bottle. Some recent excellent vintages, plus been refilling the pipeline with some solid backfills.
More or less in terms of total bottles purchased. MORE, SEE ABOVE
More or less in terms of value of said bottles purchased. HIGHER
Age of person answering. 59
Average cost of bottle purchased I DO NOT TRACK THIS DATE, BUTMY AVERAGE WOULD BE WAY UP AS I HAVE FOCUSED ON A LOT OF PREMIUM BACKFILLS, SO BOTTLES RANGING $200-$300+.
How long have you been ‘into wine. 33 YEARS
Buying less, drinking less, trying to focus more on quality. I really don’t need much now but plan to continue buying '19 - '21 Piedmont and backfilling as possible. A string of lesser vintages on the horizon may well help to curtail spending for a few years… or strong vintages elsewhere could derail those intentions.
Are 22, 23, and 24 all considered lesser/poor?
From what I’ve read, '22 and '23 are poor, both very hot and with extreme drought effects. 2024, on the other hand, was very rainy and cool, with hail and frost as well. It should produce lighter wines then have been seen for quite awhile. I imagine it will be mixed at best.
We’re talking only Piedmont here?
I’ve made a conscious effort to buy less but better. Those bottles that I thought I shouldn’t buy in past I more often buy and skip the 3 bottles of another wine.
I really prefer well aged wines from certain regions so I’m trying to be more careful about watching that part of my cellar while also supplementing from auction aged bottles of wines I really like. Still buying some more value type wines that I’ve come to love over the years to balance the higher end wines. Just less than before.
Yes Dan. My post was specific to Piedmont. I have not explored conditions in other regions of interest to me for those vintages. I find that often Tuscany and Piedmont show some similarities in vintage character, e.g., 2016, 2019, and 2021 being excellent vintages. I tend to research as buying opportunities arise or when I see something here or elsewhere that leads me down that path. I know some people like to buy their preferred producers in every vintage, but that is not me. Particularly with so many very hot vintages these days, and again, trying to buy less, I’d rather focus on good vintages unless a producer I can buy from a producer I really trust and the discount is worth the vintage risk.
I guess I’m running against the stream here.
Compared to a few years ago, I’m buying a lot fewer expensive wines (say >$100), and a similar number of mid-price wines (say $20-$50) from producers I know and trust. Actually, I can’t think of any expensive bottles that I’ve bought since Costco’s 2019 BDX super-offering. The cellar is overfull, and I attend fewer dinners and events where great bottles are called for.
I’m actually considering selling wine this year.
For those in the accumulation stage, consider keeping some tinder dry. I bought loads (for me) in the 2009-2010 financial crisis at a ridiculous discount. I’m not saying another one is coming, but…
Mucho más.
We drank down a lot without reloading after we retired. Now I’m trying to catch up.
Yes more or less
Love seeing so many newer posters responding!
It’s interesting to see so many saying “fewer bottles, but “better” or “higher priced” wines.
I’ve been priced out of so many wines I used to buy, I guess because it’s not in my nature to be opening expensive bottles routinely. A $100 bottle of wine is a big deal, let alone $2-300, and I have never played above that. But there are still plenty of “affordable” bottles I get pleasure from drinking. So my bottle count is probably not down that much, though my dollar spend is definitely down.
She looks great! We just lost my aunt, a month short of 103. The woman was mentally strong, physically a little weak. She was facile with a smart phone, would text me jokes of the day almost until the end. You can never replace the knowledge, experience, history of someone who’s lived a century.