Outside of parties my wife and I drink about 1-2 bottles of wine a year… but now it’s closer to 0. She doesn’t really enjoy wine and even being in the industry I have a low tolerance for alcohol. It was my goal this year to increase my tolerance, but it’s really unenjoyable for me… I can handle about 3 ounces of wine per hour.
With a collection that has grown beyond reason, I am not only willing but eager to open great and/or interesting wines for anyone who wants to try them. You only live once, and have no idea what day will be your last!
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I’m with @David_Bu3ker on this. Life is short, good wine is best shared, and especially best shared with friends, “to each, according to their means“
I think those of us with overflowing cellars (Anyone? Anyone?) should reach for good bottles and pour generously. We are lucky to be able to share the bounty.
Interested wine lovers, young guns in the business gaining experience, and folks who are good company are welcome at my table regardless of the bottle price tag they can muster.
Back to the OP: Wandering in the wilds somewhere between stage 9 (OMFG! Burgundy!) and stage 10 (OMFG! These things are expensive!) with occasional side trips to German Riesling!. Rinse, repeat.
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I couldn’t disagree more, but to each there own. Excluding, for example, the Loire is something I could never do. Ditto Etna and alto Piemonte.
I enjoy being Neanderthal and un-evolved. I started and will end with Bordeaux, with Chinon, Rhone and even some Zin, scattered in the mix.
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So, you are convinced that you will never be bitten by the Burg bug?
Inspired by the discussion from Approach to Aging Wines and prompted by @Ian_Sutton’s comment:
Has anyone noticed their palate for wine changing as they age?
For context, I’m approaching my late 40s. I would say that I have only been an avid wine “consumer” but not really “serious” about wine until recently.
Over my wine journey for the past quarter of a century, my palate for food has certainly changed but mostly just on the peripheral (I probably like veggies more and meat less than I used to, etc.). However, I have been less intentional with wine and am curious to hear how others have experienced changes in preferences over the years.
The one point of reference that I can share is my first introduction to serious wine a couple of decades ago by a close friend’s father, who was a distributor. He opened a ‘97 Quintessa to have with some homemade pasta. It was a life changing experience for me; this opened me to the world of fine wine.
Last year, I got my hands on a few more bottles and the experience was almost equally sublime. At least with regards to the ‘97 Quintessa, I can confirm my palate has not changed. The wine remains as compelling now as it was then.
Some questions:
- Have you noticed changes in your wine preferences over time?
- Are there wines or styles you once loved that you’ve revisited years later? How do those experiences compare?
- For those with more tasting experience, do you find your palate becoming more discriminating?
- Has time affected your sensitivity to specific components (e.g., tannins, acidity, alcohol, etc.)?
Including some photos of my recent Quintessa experience. Sometimes, first loves do stand the test of time. 
I started a thread on this topic last week. Merge?
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Yes, sorry. Brand new here, second day. How do we merge?
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Hi @ToddFrench, how do we merge topics? I started one inadvertently, not knowing that @R_Frankel, already had one going. Sorry for the trouble.
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Don’t sweat it, happens all the time and Todd will clean up our mess. Welcome!
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Todd gonna be so pissed! The poor guy is trying to take a family vacation in Chile!
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Ugh, great way to start my time here. 
Any way to just delete this topic? I couldn’t find it so assume no…
Dude, we are totally busting your balls, all is totally fine. You actually pose very good questions.
For years, I wondered about palate Evolution and often thought about it when I was making long-term wine purchase decisions. I watched my father’s palate morph from a classical palate to somebody that loved higher octane wines. It was like a Robert Parker effect all over again. And then oddly enough, his palate reverted back to traditional wines. My palate has pretty much remained the same throughout my entire wine experience, although I’d like to think it has become more discriminating. I still drink the same stuff and I still prefer classic over modern. I have an aversion to new oak and higher alcohol and higher extraction. I am 59 and I just don’t see things changing.
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Thanks. I’ve read some of your comments in your thread on building an old world cellar and noted that you spent your honeymoon in Bordeaux after serving the 1990 Larose Trintaudon at your wedding. That seems pretty consistent to me. Impressive. Also noted that you’re in Florida too (based on your comment on shipping during the winter). I’m in Boca.
Hi Ernest,
Welcome to the board, and thanks for posting!! This is such a great topic, because it’s something we can all related to and comment on, whether we’ve been “into” wine for 40 years, 20 years, 5 or 2. 
I’ve numbered your questions, above, for easy answer-reference here:
1. Yes, I’ve definitely noticed a change in wine preferences over time. The biggest change has been a move from drinking mostly reds (~ 90%) to now drinking mostly whites (~ 55% - 60% whites now).
Additionally, whereas we used to prefer S. Rhone wines, and wines from CA made from those grapes, we’ve shifted to preferring Bordeaux, Pinot Noir, and (in my case – not so much my wife’s) Cabernet Franc. As far as whites go, it did take some time to figure out, and then accept, the reality that I prefer Chenin over Chardonnay, so that revelation and acceptance thereof did cause a change in wine buying habits, but I don’t think it actually represented a change in preferences, really.
2. Yes. I’ll stick with southern Rhones, Chateauneuf du Pape, in particular. This one is a bit difficult because, to be honest, I think part of our shift away from these wines resulted from the wines, themselves, changing, and not our palates changing. I still love me some classic, middle-weight CdP; problem is, it’s hard to find 'em these days. A couple years ago, we visited Paso Robles for the first time in a looooong time — we used to visit once, if not twice, per year. By in large, the wines no longer appeal to us — they are overripe and noticeably alcoholic. The fact that they are more expensive than other wines we actually like more just exacerbates the situation.
3. Not sure. I am going to stridently choose to believe that more than 20 but less than 25 years counts as “more tasting experience.” I’m not sure what you mean by “more discriminating,” but if you mean “you find less wine falling into your happy zone,” then I suppose my answer is, “No.” The more I taste, the more I find things to like. But, to be fair, one of the most fun things about this hobby – for me – is exploring wines and regions with which I am not familiar; not everyone shares in this enthusiasm or enjoyment, and that’s totally fine. We don’t all need to enjoy this hobby in the same manner.
4. Yes. Once upon a time, I didn’t know what TCA smelled like or tasted like. I probably had some affected bottles and chalked them up as simply being “bad wine” before I knew how to identify a TCA-infected wine. I am more sensitive to alchol than I used to be. I am less tolerant of brett than I used to be. My desire for acidity has increased over time, and I’ve recently found myself yearning for harsh youthful tannins in young wines, which seem to be only getting rarer these days.
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IMHO, the fully-evolved collector realizes that there are so many wines in the world that it is impossible to know all of them (or even a large fraction of them) and is at peace with the fact that there is a limit to how much they will ever know about wine. They have found producers in a relative handful of the wine regions of the world whose wines they really enjoy and don’t worry about what they will never taste. They remain open to the possibility of new producers and new regions and enjoy trying new things (and new wines to add to their handful of producers) but are in general pretty content with what they are currently drinking.
Their wine cellars probably are way overfilled with wine, they are too old to buy new wines that will need lots of aging and just enjoy life.
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You are describing old codger wine collectors. I know because I am one and I fit the type you describe. Would this description be true of anyone under 60?
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There’s a lot of us.
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Yes, I am getting to be an old codger - I have 6 more months before hitting full codger status (turn 70).
But, I have to ask whether someone who is under 60 can be a fully-evolved collector or do they still have more steps to go?