QPR

[Marcus_Goodfellow]

The opposite is just as true. Load up on a particular area and high/higher end wines and as your palate changes you no longer enjoy them nearly as much as you did in the past.

The single biggest mistake one can make when beginning to collect wine is to load up on “value” wines that they may at some point realize that they no longer care to drink, regardless what a bargain they were.

Plus 1 to both.

I focus on buying the wines I love. And the ones that cost less sort of default to being QPR wines.

That said, I rarely buy a wine because it is a good QPR wine.

Clos de Briords is a wine that has an astounding QPR, but I have never seen it sold as a QPR wine.

[David_Bu3ker]

Clos de Briords is a wine that has an astounding QPR, but I have never seen it sold as a QPR wine.

At one point I loaded up on it. Turns out I prefer the Clisson.

[Otto_Forsberg]

don’t forget Muscadet. If they doubled the price it would sell better. Few believe it’s world class at the low price commanded.

Or it could be that if they doubled the price suddenly their US market would double in size - but at the same time they might lose considerable amount of their local market, which might be a bigger impact.

I imagine they try to charge as much of their wines as they can and doubling the price isn’t going to increase their revenue.

Of course the US importers could try and see what happens if they increased their markup so the wines suddenly appeared expensive!

[Sarah_Kirschbaum]

The single biggest mistake one can make when beginning to collect wine is to load up on “value” wines that they may at some point realize that they no longer care to drink, regardless what a bargain they were.

On the other hand, the single smartest moves I’ve made in my wine collecting history have been loading up on value wines that went on to age beautifully and get more and more expensive to replace. It’s almost a cliche to warn on this board - and not without good reason - that your tastes may change. Remember that they also may not. If you are loving well balanced, non-extreme wines, I would not be so scared to do a little loading here and there if you’re feeling bullish on their future.

[Robert.A.Jr]

The single biggest mistake one can make when beginning to collect wine is to load up on “value” wines that they may at some point realize that they no longer care to drink, regardless what a bargain they were.

On the other hand, the single smartest moves I’ve made in my wine collecting history have been loading up on value wines that went on to age beautifully and get more and more expensive to replace. It’s almost a cliche to warn on this board - and not without good reason - that your tastes may change. Remember that they also may not. If you are loving well balanced, non-extreme wines, I would not be so scared to do a little loading here and there if you’re feeling bullish on their future.

100%.

If anything, given that I am a regular daily drinker of balanced wines, I actually wish I had a far greater percentage of these value plays in my “cellar,” over the larger collection of special or collector wines.

[Ron_Slye]

The single biggest mistake one can make when beginning to collect wine is to load up on “value” wines that they may at some point realize that they no longer care to drink, regardless what a bargain they were.

On the other hand, the single smartest moves I’ve made in my wine collecting history have been loading up on value wines that went on to age beautifully and get more and more expensive to replace. It’s almost a cliche to warn on this board - and not without good reason - that your tastes may change. Remember that they also may not. If you are loving well balanced, non-extreme wines, I would not be so scared to do a little loading here and there if you’re feeling bullish on their future.

This is sort of my experience as well. When I was younger I was buying less expensive wines, but wanted to age them to see how they did. I thus had a good deal of Spanish, Italian, and California wines, along with some lesser bordeaux, that aged quite beautifully – a few of which I still have and from what I can tell, are still quite drinkable. I did a similar thing with some 1990s burgundy – though some of those were a bit more expensive, but have evolved beautifully.

I think if I were going to identify one thing I did early that I wish I had dropped sooner, it was chasing points awarded by Parker/Wine Spectator etc. Some of those have turned out to be good buys – but often I was buying things I did not know well, and it turns out they were less to my taste, both then and now.

[Michael_S_Monie]

The single biggest mistake one can make when beginning to collect wine is to load up on “value” wines that they may at some point realize that they no longer care to drink, regardless what a bargain they were.

On the other hand, the single smartest moves I’ve made in my wine collecting history have been loading up on value wines that went on to age beautifully and get more and more expensive to replace. It’s almost a cliche to warn on this board - and not without good reason - that your tastes may change. Remember that they also may not. If you are loving well balanced, non-extreme wines, I would not be so scared to do a little loading here and there if you’re feeling bullish on their future.

A valid point of view. But, it’s contingent on being able to identify and appreciate “well balance, non-extreme” wines early in the process. Early on, I suspect many want as much bang for the buck as possible to justify the additional expense from the supermarket wines that they have been buying. And unless one has a mentor or is an “old soul” who intuits the value of balance, the evolution of taste preferences is almost an inevitability.

[John_Glas]

Davenport Mr. B.

[Jay_Miller]

I focus on buying the wines I love. And the ones that cost less sort of default to being QPR wines.

[Sarah_Kirschbaum]

The single biggest mistake one can make when beginning to collect wine is to load up on “value” wines that they may at some point realize that they no longer care to drink, regardless what a bargain they were.

On the other hand, the single smartest moves I’ve made in my wine collecting history have been loading up on value wines that went on to age beautifully and get more and more expensive to replace. It’s almost a cliche to warn on this board - and not without good reason - that your tastes may change. Remember that they also may not. If you are loving well balanced, non-extreme wines, I would not be so scared to do a little loading here and there if you’re feeling bullish on their future.

A valid point of view. But, it’s contingent on being able to identify and appreciate “well balance, non-extreme” wines early in the process. Early on, I suspect many want as much bang for the buck as possible to justify the additional expense from the supermarket wines that they have been buying. And unless one has a mentor or is an “old soul” who intuits the value of balance, the evolution of taste preferences is almost an inevitability.

I am willing to give benefit of the doubt to those already participating in a wine chat forum that they are somewhat beyond the “bang for the buck…from the supermarket” stage.

Of course you won’t hit on every choice, but I think it’s a mistake to use the worry that your tastes will change to stop you from sometimes buying a quantity of wine you love, even when you’re just starting out.

[alan_weinberg]

pretty much whatever you have too much of or have tired of can be sold, traded, or given away to recoup investment and plow into the next level of the passion.

[G_D_y_e_r]

On the other hand, the single smartest moves I’ve made in my wine collecting history have been loading up on value wines that went on to age beautifully and get more and more expensive to replace. It’s almost a cliche to warn on this board - and not without good reason - that your tastes may change. Remember that they also may not. If you are loving well balanced, non-extreme wines, I would not be so scared to do a little loading here and there if you’re feeling bullish on their future.

A valid point of view. But, it’s contingent on being able to identify and appreciate “well balance, non-extreme” wines early in the process. Early on, I suspect many want as much bang for the buck as possible to justify the additional expense from the supermarket wines that they have been buying. And unless one has a mentor or is an “old soul” who intuits the value of balance, the evolution of taste preferences is almost an inevitability.

I am willing to give benefit of the doubt to those already participating in a wine chat forum that they are somewhat beyond the “bang for the buck…from the supermarket” stage.

Of course you won’t hit on every choice, but I think it’s a mistake to use the worry that your tastes will change to stop you from sometimes buying a quantity of wine you love, even when you’re just starting out.

I agree with Sarah on this point. Once I decided to build a small collection of wine, I went for some Loire Cab Franc, a bit of Bandol and N. Rhone, and the occasional Barbaresco or Barolo where a deal was to be had. These all constituted relative value, and generally had a track record to justify the risk. It has paid of well, in my opinion. Heck, I even have several Gonon and Rougeard bottles that are basically too expensive to drink now.

But those were researched, strategic choices. One could certainly go very wrong buying discounted or value-targeted $20 to $40 California wines with the intent of aging. I drink new world wines more often than old world currently, but value in age worthy wines is a trickier proposition overall for new world wines.

[Markus_S]

Too many deaths have been countenanced by the fighting varietals upon the vinous battlefields.

[Br1an_Th0rne]

Ch. Grand Puy Lacoste is my top QPR. When I first fell in love with Bordeaux, I bought all the 96 and 00 (futures) that I could afford, and then went deep with 05. For my palate, they have always drank like wines costing twice as much, and the “value” has only improved as they age. Ch. Branaire Ducru is also a favorite QPR.

So for my tastes, when you factor in quality, price, and the ability to improve with age, nothing compares to Bordeaux.

[Dave_H]

Very controversial opinion to come out in favor of wines that deliver good value.

[Howard_Cooper]

Buy what YOU love that is at a price YOU can afford. If you are drinking wines you do not love, what is the point of this hobby?

[John_Glas]

Buy what YOU love that is at a price YOU can afford. If you are drinking wines you do not love, what is the point of this hobby?

Agree.

If I made more money my QPR wines would be $200 a bottle but so many good ones under $20.00!

[Glenn_P]

Buy what YOU love that is at a price YOU can afford. If you are drinking wines you do not love, what is the point of this hobby?

I understand the point here, but what does this have to do with QPR? There is no logic here.

[John_Telford]

To me Wine is all about the Q! The PR kind of sorts itself out by financial choice or means.

[Markus_S]

Buy what YOU love that is at a price YOU can afford. If you are drinking wines you do not love, what is the point of this hobby?

Well, we are learning about wine and sometimes that is a painful process, and sometimes you won’t love everything you drink just as a student won’t love everything they study.