Fairly new, looking for recommendations for the future

WINE TALK
21

My MO as a young collector, to find my bearings, is to take a modest budget, go to WineBid and buy 20-30 bottles of OLDER wine 5-25 years old, and get a wide sampling of decently rated but not crazy expensive bottles. Then in the fall, once they arrive and you’ve let them sit a few hours (unlike Pobega) you get a few friends and go crazy and taste through and decide what you actually like once it’s say around for a few years and matured. Get a few OLD bottles to see if you actually like what wine tastes like with tertiary flavors.

This is the least expensive way I know to calibrate your palate and get a sense of what you might want to buy and store.

As everyone has said, tastes change and even a collector of only a few years like me has cases of bottles that he may or may not actually want to hold and drink. Don’t follow our paths to destruction. Keep your purchases minimal, and avoid hype, until you’ve gotten a chance to taste through a lot more wine.

If you want advice on what to pick up at Winebid, PM me.

22

You’re lucky in that some of the most experienced drinkers on this board have responded. All sage advice which I didn’t listen to when I started out. Don’t feel rushed and “go wide” until you figure out what you like, which may take several years. And buy champagne. For goodness sake, we never seem to have enough and it goes with just about everything.

23

Welcome to the board, Jake! You are very fortunate that there are a lot of very experienced wine drinkers who are willing to provide some great advice. A few items that have been mentioned that I cannot recommend enough are:

  1. Try wines from as many Regions as possible, both young wines and older ones.
  2. Go to tastings at wine shops whenever you can. It is a great way to taste wines that can be difficult to obtain, at a fraction of the bottle cost.
  3. Trust your own palate. Like what you like, not what someone else likes.
  4. Realize that your palate and preferences will most likely change over time.

Thanks,
Ed

24

Similar to others

1 - Find out what you like, not what scores highly.
2 - Don’t dismiss anything without trying it
3 - Do not go crazy on any list right away, you will end up dropping most of them

25

I agree with Alan and some of the other posts.

Here’s something else to try. If you like a wine of some producer or wine maker, try another wine from that producer or wine maker. And if you like a particular variety, try other wines using that variety. (“Variety”, not “varietal”, although for some reason wine people like to use that adjective as a noun.)

So rather than read or try recommendations of strangers, why not explore more of what you’ve liked? For example, there is Malbec grown and made into wine in France, California, Washington, Argentina, Australia and elsewhere. So try some of those. You may discover that you like the versions from the Loire more than those from Mendoza, or you might find the opposite. And if you like a lot of wines from one of those regions, try more.

That will be a lot more meaningful and useful than trying a lot of random recommendations.

Anyway, welcome!

26

Welcome to the board Jake.

Attend tastings with your wife and look for a tasting group in the Offline thread. If there are none locally, put a tasting group together if you think that would be fun.

My purchasing advice would be to try different wines but don’t throw a bunch of money down on specific producers/varietals until you really figure out what you like. Like others on this board, I went deep on CA cabs, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Zins, and Chard and then figured out that I would rather be drinking Burgs, Northern Rhones, Bordeaux, Piedmont and lots of Champagne. No big deal as I still enjoy CA wines but have allot of it to drink (or sell). I would rather have spent some of that money on other wines.

27

This board is awesome! Thank you everyone for the responses, I feel like we have a purpose going forward… TRY ALL THE WINE!

28

Run far, far away from this BB; it will cost you a pretty penny. champagne.gif


And make sure you show up with a fresh credit card on Berserker Day, it’s a smorgasbord of great deals.

29

This is the best thread we have ever created. It should be a sticky with the title “I want to get into wine. What should I do?” I get asked that question all the time and the sum total of advice here is just right, except of course for those who want you to go right to Burg Hell without passing go and without spending less than $200.

30

I would advise against choosing mailing lists because they are popular or because others rave about them. The big gun lists where it can take years to get allocations are often very, shall we say, opinionated wines. Though this is not always the case, they do tend to be extreme examples of a style, and unless you know you really like the extreme version, there is a good chance you could find them to be too much. There was recently a thread in which we discussed biggest regrets in wine, and my response was that I had bought too much early on because it was popular or would be impressive. Of course, it can’t hurt to put yourself on those lists, especially if you have enough self control and self-awareness not to reflexively buy when you get an allocation.

Off-lines are a really good way of tasting a lot of different wine of high quality. One thing you might try, in addition to attending fun and casual dinners or tastings, is splurge on the “entry fee” to a higher end dinner or two, where the other participants will be bringing similarly special wines. It will give you the opportunity to taste a number of wines at that end of the spectrum without having to spend a fortune. This approach is certainly not a replacement for tasting extensively at a level you can easily afford - even when you can afford more, there is great pleasure all along the curve - but it is a nice addition to your education as well as a source of great pleasure.

31

Good advice from Sarah about the occasional splurge. Don’t go out and cellar some wine unless you know that’s what you like.

But here’s another take on the list thing. Most people never join any list. In my case, I’m on no lists and have no intention of joining one. But I’ve had and have a lot of wine, so lists clearly are not required.

However, it costs you nothing to join. Most lists you can just get on right away, so don’t worry about those. Other lists might take a few years to get on, so you might as well join those. Then, if you find out you like the wine, you’re good. And if you don’t want to order after all, just drop off.

A list like SQN for example, can take years to get on. In the future, if you decide you don’t want to spend $300 for a super ripe Grenache, you can simply drop off, but if you genuinely like the stuff, you will have saved yourself a few years. Besides, you shouldn’t have an obligation to buy just because you signed up for a list. If someone kicks you off their list for not buying, I wouldn’t sweat it too much.

32

There’s no harm in getting in line for a wine that many love knowing that it may take years to get an allocation “cough” Saxum. You can always drop off or not take your allocation, but its hard to recover those “waiting” years at a later date.
Not all lists are “extreme” examples of a style “cough cough” Bedrock and Carlisle. [wink.gif] [pillow-fight.gif] neener [smileyvault-ban.gif]

[cheers.gif]

33

Totally agree. I’m not only not on any lists, I don’t own a single bottle of wine that came from a list. Or any from the US at all, come to think of it.

You didn’t read what I said very carefully. I quite specifically said “Though this is not always the case, they tend to be…” I also said there’s no harm in joining, though I think my point about self-control is a valid one. Yes, you can always drop off, but a lot of people have trouble saying no, or feel that, after waiting so long, they should take it.

34

I echo the previous sentiments…Do NOT build a collection. Your tastes are pretty certain to evolve over time. Wines that you sock away in 2015 may not be the ones you want to drink later on in life.

Drink lots of wine. Share it with friends. Have fun with it.

35

If you’re lucky enough to live in an area where wine is produced, try the local juice.

36

Agreed, and I am probably on the other side of the aisle because I love those wines. However, I recommend that any newbie immediately sign up for SQN and Saxum. It will take years to get an offer and by then you will decide whether you like them or not. If not, you won’t buy when offered. No harm, no foul. That’s what happened to me with Harlan. I waited years and by the time I got an offer, I decided that the price was obscene, so I passed. BUT I had the choice. If you decide you like the wines, you can buy them and thank me.

37

+1,785.

38

Always stash away as much Bordeaux as you can over the years - even if you don’t like them now, you will in 20 years. And you will be damn glad you did.