Have you ever intentionally stopped buying wine for a time?

[ToddFrench]

@Saul_Mutchnick

Deals Are Overrated This is practically blasphemous here, I know. And trust me, I am still a very deal-oriented shopper (if you’re the buyer for a retail shop, closeout lists can be nearly-literal gold mines), but during the very-strict-budget period I realized that often times I’d buy a bunch of bottles of a really great deal, but my purchases were exceptionally scatter shot. That meant that I wasn’t buying what I was actually drinking (see above) and those “deals” would sit in storage in place of wines that might be more exciting, or more useful, but which were priced “at normal retail.” I do think that relative value is a big part of the equation, especially for me at the time, but I think that the QPR of a wine rarely changes that much even if it’s on sale in a big way: There are a horde of $250 Napa Cabs that would be incredible buys at $50, in theory, but would bring me less pleasure than a $20 Dolcetto.

Not at all blasphemous. I fully agree. So many times I was suckered into a ‘deal’ on a wine that I didn’t end up enjoying, and often since it is a deal I bought multiples, so I’m stuck with them.

Last year I made only 3 wine purchases, by intent. My allocations of Gonon and MacDonald, and one auction item of some old CA Cabs for the ‘Mountain Jamboree 3.0’ event with my Berserker buddies. My wife is drinking almost no wine lately, so the only time I move through bottles is, ironically, when the kids are home, as they love wine (particularly with food pairings) and can’t afford most of what I have anyway. When they come home, they drink well thanks to dad!