Has anyone actually stopped buying wine?

WINE TALK
21

I thought about buying wine today. Hmmm that’s actually every day…

22

I plan to.

23

Age prevented me from loading up on '10 Barolo. Then quitting my day job to become self-employed really induced a serious buying discipline.

My inventory is down about 5% in the year-plus since I quit getting a regular paycheck, and it feels great. It’s like that point (I’ve read about only) where you have enough exercise that your metabolism starts burning off fat. An '86 Leoville Poyferre? Give it a whirl! Those '01 rieslings? Pop the corks! It’s really fun. It’s a change of mentality, from the quest for accumulation to exploration of the wine I’ve amassed.

This happened once before, many years ago, when I had four or five months warning that I was going to be moving from California to New York and needed to get my inventory down. It was fun, then, too.

That sums up the challenge perfectly for me. Despite my resolve, I did a vertical of Raffault Chinon this week, which tempts me to back-fill some older bottles. And there are a few '13 Barolo/Barbaresco’s that are so tempting. And I’ve loved exploring the new generation of California winemakers using cooler climate grapes.

24

Many, many times.

25

I’m buying no new Red Burgundy Vintages.
Soon will be buying no new CA Pinot Vintages.
Will continue to buy CA Chard.
Will continue to backfill wines that are ready to drink.

That’s my plan.

TTT

26

And from what I enjoyed with you at our dinner, I am assuming there are some beauties in there. Let me know if you need help enjoying some of them!

27

I actually did stop for an entire year, then broke down and bought 2 cases of 2016 Bordeaux futures. That was almost a year ago, and the only thing I’ve purchased since then is a 3-pack of MacDonald. I think I’m done, but wouldn’t bet my life on it. I’m 62.

28

not yet. mostly backfilling.

29

I’ve cut way back on purchases, but not interested in going to zero.
2007 was my ‘worst’ purchase year, it’s taken me over a decade to get this under control:
2011 was 75% of my 2007 purchases
2013 was 50%
2015 was 35%
2016 was 15%
2017 was 10%
And so far in 2018, 1%.
Hoping 2018 comes in at 5% and I’d like that to be the standard.
A firehose becomes a drip, just fine.

I’m also getting rid of a few younger wines, handing them off to friends.
Like to have no red Burg after the 2010 vintage
No Piedmont after the 2010 vintage
No Bordeaux after the 2005 vintage

30

All you guys who have stopped buying wines. What age did you stop, what age do you assume your wine drinking will stop and or what is your expected life expectancy (hope for)?

I’m turning 50 with no real plan or idea when I think I should stop.

31

Well life expectancy is going down for white males, so…around 74 now? Anything more is a gift for the “average Joe”. I doubt wine will make us healthier but it beats heroin and opioid addiction for death rates. You’re not going to be drinking a bottle a day when in your 80’s, and if you do, I’d worry about you.

32

But to be fair, it’s barely mid-day there

Pretty much stopped. Back-filling aged vintages where bargains appear. I will buy really good deals on 375s if they pop up. Otherwise, I am done, as I said elsewhere.

33

Depends on how old you are now. If you make it to 60, your life expectancy goes up a fair bit. The linked calculator says my expectancy at this point is 92 (I am white, married, educated, don’t smoke and I exercise regularly).

Thing is, I am reasonably confident that if I run out of wine in 2035, they will still be selling it. I don’t have to have every bottle I want to drink in the cellar now; just the long-term agers.


https://www.johnhancockinsurance.com/life/life-expectancy-tool.aspx

34

What I would buy has been disappearing from auction and retail sites. Easy way to stop.

35

Same. I only buy really great deals on burgundy/ current allocations, back vintages and current releases of certain n. Rhone producers. Some old napa cab when they pop up.

That’s it tho.

36

German Riesling allocations??

37

Sheesh, you’re too young to talk like this! Buy hey, once you’ve already cornered America’s supply of Juge, what else is there to do?! [snort.gif] neener

38

Hmm…I got my fair share of Juge too.

Stopping may be impossible for many of us…this hobby is a sickness.

Many factors - at least in my situation:

  1. The more wine you have, the less you need to buy. In theory, the bar raises every year purchases exceed consumption.
  2. In the first decade, I purchased in large QTYs and about half the time it was on the wrong wine. The second decade I bought a reasonable amount of wine, but became focused on my favorite producers in every region and experimentation nearly ended. I’m into the 3rd decade now and I’ve become even more focused. I know what I like. I don’t experiment anymore - there are way too many outstanding producers to buy.
  3. At some point in the next 10 or so years, I will retire and at that point things will start to account for longevity expectations. At this point, I suspect I’ve bought the last of Bartolo Mascarello, Giacosa, and G.Rinadi on release.
  4. The way pricing has evolved in the Cote d’Or has made it easy to prune down purchases. Truchot retirement helped.
  5. Have to admit - quality of vintage does continue to play a part in the numbers. Spikes for 05 and 10 Cote d’Or, for instance. Recent spikes in 10 and 13 Piedmont, 08 Champagne, and 14 White Burgs.
  6. …and I don’t have to get every single bottling of every single vintage of my favorite producers…I’m over that.

-mark

39

59 this year. I’ve enough wine to last until I’m 85 at current consumption. I’ve been decreasing my buying in stages. About ten years ago stopped buying new released reds, Riesling, Loire whites. Stopped with Champagne about 5 years ago. I do like my wines with some age. I will break down every now and again when something comes up in which I’m really interested, but for the most part have been pretty good. I still buy wines already with some age on them, or wines ready to drink such as Madeira or wood aged Ports. As I said, I’ve been pretty good but did end up buying 2015 Vintage Port including magnums! flirtysmile

40

I filled my cellar up with all red wines. I’m turning 62 this year, so I’m not purchasing red wines anymore.

But I still like to shop, and outside of German Riesling, like my white wines young. So I still get to sample (and buy) the new roses, bubblies and whites that come out every year -