same here—the people behind the wines matter most to me now
I have stopped most all lists for a simple reason, I have 6 and 9 year old boys and put those funds to their education and passions, be it sports, music, or hobbies like chess and fishing.
Maybe in 15 years I can get my spots back on lists if possible, but for now family is my sole focus.
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This thread seems like a panacea to FOMO or “what wine are you buying.” Instead it is “Oh good. It is OK to buy less because everyone else is.”
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I’m appreciative of the views and thoughts here. What is clear is a lot of us are (re)thinking what and how we buy wine.
There are some obvious and understandable perspectives - saving for other things, nearing retirement and not sure if can/will continue to buy, cellar full…
We’re also saying the quiet part out loud - FOMO-based marketing, upside-down pricing, and the illusion of scarcity are increasingly apparent and our causing us to change our habits. While I (we?) still buy what we love, trophies or not, the current system isn’t working well.
For me it is not a question of buy or not - that ship sailed long ago - and this is a hobby for me that I enjoy (albeit an expensive on)
The question is what I buy (and how) and the traditional US domestic model just isn’t working for me anymore. Since I initially posted this thread I’ve dropped a half-dozen producers I’ve purchased for years as their “allocations” seem tone deaf to the wider world of wine around me. (buy before its gone tactics, switch to clubs to lock in future purchases regardless of quality, prices on winebid lower out of the gate…)
Small and new producers, on the other hand, are leaning into their innovation, new locales and ideas. I’m really glad to learn from them and support them in their endeavors (and it seems like you are all there, too)
I hope our friends at producers around the world try to address this head-on (and I suspect many are already trying to do so) but I’m not seeing a lot of progress this season.
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For sure, I trimmed a lot this year. Mainly keeping the allocations associated with the California wineries that I like (or would like) to visit - Promontory, Law Estate, Clos Solene, Rivers Marie, Kinsman Eades, Bella Oaks, Williams Selyem, and Donum Estate. Actually passed on Scarecrow since there’s nothing there to visit and their stuff isn’t that hard to come by.
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Was just having this conversation with a friend. Time, space, and money aren’t infinite and catches up with all of us!
I have been buying less and less the past few years, although about once every other year I will stare at a pile of boxes in the dining room and think, “where the F did all this wine come from?”
We downsized three years ago, and my storage space is limited to around 280 bottles
My wife is drinking less so our consumption has waned (despite my best efforts)
I turned 60 last year, so I’m simply not interested in bottles that I will likely never open
I buy what I like to drink from just a few producers now and occasionally buy from HDH or other auctions for older bottles. I do have some FOMO on newer wineries that I would have chased several years ago.
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only buying my Kinsman allocations now. am only buying champagne, Kinsman, and berserkerday wines now. more than enough to last my life time now!