72 here, and just under about 1000 bottles, mostly bordeaux and cabernet. Probably average about 3 bottles per week. I no longer buy “cellar defenders” and just opt for the good stuff, whether it be aged or not, depending upon mood. I also open curiosity purchases. As far as purchasing: no longer buy young bordeaux, but may think about backfilling. I have dropped off almost all of the clubs I was once in (still with Robert Craig for example), and mostly ignore mailing lists. There is an occasional lapse to this. And for the most part, whites are purchased off the shelf as needed. Notice my qualifiers: backfill, mostly, almost….it takes mental and emotional strength to resist the urge.
9 Likes
I’m 71 and at its highest, my cellar was about 3200 bottles. I like mature European wines so I stopped buying completely about 5 years ago. I think the last wines I bought quite a few of were 2015 burgundies. After selling a bunch and drinking, I’m down to about 2300 bottles mostly from the 80s, 90s, and early 00s. This is plenty, I do buy some everyday drinkers from time to time but that’s it. I do know people my age that like the same wines as me and have plenty of wine but are still buying. The obsession is strong and I get that it’s hard to stop. Most of us have been chasing wines for a long time!
9 Likes
Why would I want to do any of that when I have cut way back on buying wine (I am 70) because I have a ton of wine that is ready to drink or soon will be?
Also, for things like Burgundy, Bordeaux, traditionally made California cab and Zin, Barolo, young just really is not an adequate substitute for mature. Been there, done that.
2 Likes
I’m 61 (62 later this year) and expect to retire around 67-69. I have about 850 bottles and am hoping to keep it around that number. I drink about 3 bottles per week, but I also buy about 3-4 bottles a week, so it’s pretty easy to keep my cellar at a constant size. (I also don’t drink exclusively from my cellar and buy white and some reds for early drinking that never get into the cellar). My wife doesn’t drink, and we don’t have kids, so I’m not certain who inherits my wine if there’s a lot left when I die. So the bigger issue for me at this point is trying to figure out when I stop buying certain wines.
There are certain wines I buy that need at least 10 years, and often more like 15+ years, and I’m not certain I want to be buying those much after I retire. Like a lot of us, I tend to buy the same wines every year, so at this point, I’m trying to buy a bit more of certain wines to stock the cellar for retirement. For example, I normally buy 3 bottles of Thomas pinot noir every vintage, but I’m starting to think maybe I need to buy 4-6 bottles each vintage until I retire, because I don’t anticipate buying those after I retire (well, maybe a stray bottle here and there). I’ll still buy daily drinkers and mid-term agers after I retire, but I’m not planning to buy many wines that need 10-20 years of age. My single biggest holding is Oregon pinot noir, (about 50% of my cellar), so there aren’t a lot of options for backfilling, but I think if I change my buying habits, I can ensure I have a cellar that carries me through most of my retirement
I wouldn’t expect a mid-40 year old to have much spare time. That’s why I continued working until I was 67. I was afraid of being bored.
One of the joys of switching my buying preference to California Pinots is that they are ready to drink pretty quickly and last typically 10-15 years. And now that I have some classic cabs/bordeaux from the late 90s early 2000s, I’m questioning whether the wait for aging was worth it.
I’ll turn 72 in a few months. My cellar is just shy of 1100 bottles. That’s more than enough. I open 2-3 bottles a week. I’m only one list now, Sandar & Hem. A case a year. For the past several years (since retirement in 2021), I’ve helped bottle for Ed Kurtzman, Shalini Sekhar (Otttavino, Waits Mast, and Neely when she was winemaker there), and at Treasure Island Wines (Sandar & Hem and a few others). Ed closed his operation last year and Shalini is no longer with Neely. Both make their wines now at custom crush facilities that have their own staff for bottling. That just leaves Treasure Island. I’ve gotten paid in wine/cash. Now that two operations are no longer on the table for me, that will cut down how much wine goes in my cellar. That’s totally fine.
I’ve back filled on some birth year wines. I was born in 1954. Generally shitty in Europe except for Rioja and Barolo. Latter is too expensive. I have a good acquaintance who is a big-time Rioja collector. He has good sources in Europe. I recently got a bottle each of Lopez de Heredia Tondonia GR, C.V.N.E. Imperial Gran Reserva, and C.V.N.E. Viña Real Reserva Especial, all at really good prices. He’s not ITB and just charges what he paid for them. I drank three other ‘54’s last year and they were all excellent.
I caved last year when I bought a case total of various 2021 and 2022 Max Kilburg Kabinetts on WineBid, ranging from $15-25 a bottle. At those prices, c’mon. Also, several bottles of 2023 Vollenweider Wolfer Goldgrube Kabinett ‘Wurzelecht’, again at nice prices. That wine is mind-blowing.
My father had a single case of wine left when he passed. I aspire to that.
5 Likes
The concept of boredom in retirement always surprises me. There are SO MANY things to do. I was very fortunate to retire early and I have never regretted it for a moment. Personally, I have a small farm and a few horses to take care. That gives me an endless stream of chores and my wife and I ride whenever we can. Beyond that, I am a life-long musician and I am finally devoting as much attention as possible to improving my ability. I think you mentioned starting guitar? Playing music provides me with creative and intellectual stimulation, social interaction, and endless motivation to grow my knowledge and skills. Retirement rocks (even though I’m a jazz guy)!
5 Likes
I also have not been bored since I retired almost 5 years ago. One goal was to play music again. I played clarinet for 15 years until my early 20s. I got pretty good, playing in the college symphony orchestra. I used to check out music scores from the library and practice on the first violin parts.
Like you, playing music is a great thing. It keeps my mind active. I took up the guitar 4 years ago. I can’t read music like I used to (Stravinsky and Bartok, for example). However, I had a head start. I read sheet music, not tablature (Pat Metheny is right, tablature sucks). My instructor feels the same. I’m a bit of a bulldog when it comes to getting a specific technique or nuance down. SO many little things that you can’t really learn from a YouTube video.
Well enough of that. Back to how much wine we’ll have in our cellar when we can’t drink anymore…
2 Likes
63 here, with the cellar right around 3000 bottles. I continue to buy, but a lot more selectively than in the past. When not doing the dry thing we typically go through a bottle per evening, so I am not overly concerned with my inventory, but I do need to slow my purchasing down significantly - which was the plan all along as I near retirement.
1 Like
My biggest problem is, I have a great fear of retirement. I just can’t see myself sitting around with nothing to do. I know, I know, everyone says you will be busier than ever after you retire. Well, I’ve always had a dream of retiring with a little wine shop to keep me busy. I feel like when I finally stop working, the next step is death. I don’t like that feeling. My better half and my kids are all threatening to disown me if I open another business. And it’s gotten serious. I have been an unabashed workaholic for 50 years and maybe 70 years old is a little old to open a wine shop. I don’t need the money, and I do want to travel (and live 6 months a year in Mexico - I hate Minnesota winters). But, I won’t have that wine wholesale license anymore! How am I going to purchase wine?
What’s a guy to do.
1 Like
Well, I’m 65 and happily retired for the last year, although I still haven’t got used to the concept of retirement! In my head I’m just unemployed and say as much inadvertently when people ask me what I’m up to, much to my family’s irritation! Like others have said, I am indeed extremely busy, cycling, walking, looking after family members, the house, the garden, and last but not least…my cellar! Retirement is anything but boring, I love it!
I have around 3 000 bottles, which I am still adding to, although I have reduced from the high water mark of 3 400. I mostly only backfill reds, but I’m still eager to explore new whites. My wife only indulges occasionally and only one of my four children is into wine, so all the more for me!
I don’t really think about what will happen when I leave this mortal coil, but I certainly expect that there will be a decent collection left. Most of my cellar is made up of mid-range collectibles from Bordeaux and the Loire, so not a difficult investment for them to convert into cash, should they wish to.
4 Likes
I played trumpet in high school and college. A few years ago I took guitar lessons at Old Town Folk School. I found it difficult, and frankly sucked on the guitar. I realized that a trumpet is a much easier instrument - just three valves - not 6 strings spread over multiple frets - chords vs. picking. But the first thing I found odd at the school was it was all tabs, not “music.”
2 Likes
This thread is an eyer opener in terms of how many bottles those of you in your 60s and early 70s have.
I need @Francois_Audouze to chime in to make me feel better!
2 Likes
I appreciate the spirit of this comment, but would suggest a thread title edit to “Old Folks Thread” to make it more clear.
I turn 60 later this year and am an active participant in the cellar reduction thread (with newly renewed determination for 2026), as I probably have a 20-25 year supply even if I stopped buying completely (which of course I won’t). As much or more than that, though, it’s a question of inventory esceeding the capacity for which the cellar was designed and I don’t want to be slinging cardboard cases around every few years to get to my racks when I’m 80, so now’s the time.
A bunch of my inventory was accumulated slowly over the last 30+ years, but another large chunk was accumulated since 2020 in a flurry of over-buying (by bottle count, not $) on the tremendous deals that came up during lockdown and the WDC coupon frenzy, etc., along with filling some gaps on the theory that if I don’t fill them now, I probably never will. But that’s behind me and I hope to shrink the cellar down to a more manageable inventory (in relation to rack/bin space) over the next decade.
One fellow I know will be 76 this year and has well into 5 figures of bottles in his cellar. I’m not sure if he’s still purchasing. He has no heirs. I don’t at all understand having that kind of quantity. To me, that’s borderline hoarding. I used to be married to a hoarder so I know what that’s like.
-
2006 Gonon Saint Joseph VV (value $1,695)
-
2022 Leflaive Batard Montrachet (value $1,750)
-
2020 Roumier Bonnes Mares (value $1,695)
-
2013 Cristal Rosé (Magnum) (value $1,250)
BerserkerDay 17 raffle bottles.This old man wants something ready to drink. 2013 Cristal ?
So drink the wine and cut back on buying? Sounds like a good problem you have there that you anticipated.
Also, I wrote SLIGHTLY young. You can’t time everything perfectly in life but a bit too young always seems to taste better than too old.
I am 87. Do not make the mistakes I did. I have too much wine that is past its prime. Too much bold Napa cab. Too much Syrah. We drink at the rate of a bottle or two a week. We now drink much more champagne, white burgs and pinot. A few great old burgs. Sell or donate most of the wines you no longer drink while they still have some value. Your taste will change. Your foods will change. You will drink lighter, more acid forward wines. This passion has brought much pleasure and friendships and travel.
25 Likes
I had the same thought! (Turning 60 this year…)
1 Like
I’m telling friends now that when they come over for dinner, or to visit, to not bring any wine. I enjoy sharing the experience, and I need to start drawing down bottles.
1 Like