Wine collecting!

[Alex_Valdes]

I wouldn’t rely on any price/point formula and the classification curve isn’t as stable as is suggested.

There is low price signal in points (let alone the likely lower connection of points to personal taste) so trying to derive a relationship between them is futile. The classification curve mostly does maintain a pricing hierarchy, but the steepness of the pricing curve does move over time so I wouldn’t hold a % change as gospel.

While on release, prices are structured by chateaus given their product mix marketing view, the secondary market is mostly driven by demand (given supply is fixed/dwindling). Understanding demand is very tricky, but demand, at least empirically, doesn’t respect these tight relationships.

[RTP_Latham_Richard_DBA]

To Alex Valdes: Your points are very valid but I like to have some indication of what a wine is likely to be worth to me. Through 2012 I look at Robert Parker ratings, for 2014 I use those of Neal Martin (NM), and subsequently I use a combination of NM and Antonio Galloni (AG) with more emphasis on AG as being rather more to my taste. While my average scores are very close to the foregoing there are some sizeable exceptions. Then I go my my own taste buds. Fortunately I like quite a few different styles of left bank red Bordeaux.

[Pat_P]

Diversity. I’m in the mood for… Usually about 700+ bottles will do it.

I thought that too. I am well passed that and still stare at my cellartracker thinking I have nothing to drink.

So you’re saying it’s like cable (400 channels and nothing to watch) but, MUCH more expensive?

[Brent_C_l_a_y_t_o_n]

Scores/ratings should be at the bottom of your criteria list. Buy what you like. If you buy what other people rate highly you will likely end up with a bunch of wine you don’t enjoy.

[Bob_G1]

…build a collection with wines from iconic wineries?

Don’t forget the importance of quality cold storage for a proper cellar collection. The upfront capital cost is significant, but it makes all the difference in the world to support a long slow evolution of your good wines. I see so many notes in cellar tracker where the wine is falling apart due to poor storage, where my bottles have many years of life left in them. Store your wines at 55F or below if you want to see your collection evolve positively over time and reward your patience.

[stephnie.m]

Ooooo i love all of these responses! While some of you differ in your approach, what drives each of you is especially interesting - and the different personalities of each of the cellars I am sure shows.

Bob G. makes an excellent point about proper storage! We really are stewards in facilitating the natural aging process of wine. My collection is small and I’m not in a place to age wine for the long-haul at this time, but dream of building a sizable collection for pure enjoyment shared among friends, family and other wine connoisseurs.

[Brian_S_t_o_t_t_e_r]

Ooooo i love all of these responses! While some of you differ in your approach, what drives each of you is especially interesting - and the different personalities of each of the cellars I am sure shows.

Bob G. makes an excellent point about proper storage! We really are stewards in facilitating the natural aging process of wine. My collection is small and I’m not in a place to age wine for the long-haul at this time, but dream of building a sizable collection for pure enjoyment shared among friends, family and other wine connoisseurs.

It’ll creep up on you before you know it. Look into off-site storage if you don’t have the space at home.

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

Ooooo i love all of these responses! While some of you differ in your approach, what drives each of you is especially interesting - and the different personalities of each of the cellars I am sure shows.

Bob G. makes an excellent point about proper storage! We really are stewards in facilitating the natural aging process of wine. My collection is small and I’m not in a place to age wine for the long-haul at this time, but dream of building a sizable collection for pure enjoyment shared among friends, family and other wine connoisseurs.

I doubt I’m alone in being interested to hear your own answers to your questions, Stephnie. Welcome to the forum!

[Paul_abbott]

Welcome Stephnie.

I have over a thousand bottles, but no collection. A bit like David above, I buy what I want to drink, and age it until it’s how I like them. From France, lots of left bank Bordeaux. Some champagne, burgundy, Rhône and Loire. Rioja and Bierzo from Spain. I like to get out of the rut from time to time though, and so South African, Hungarian and Greek wines are being tried out.

[Ron_Erickson]

Diversity. I’m in the mood for… Usually about 700+ bottles will do it.

I thought that too. I am well passed that and still stare at my cellartracker thinking I have nothing to drink.

I also prescribe to the drinking cellar philosophy and the 700 to 800 range has been easy to maintain. Much of what I chose to drink is CCR’s (mostly Felsina) and Oregon Pinot (I go wide here), and in the 7-10 year range. While I enjoy all regions of Bordeaux, some years ago I decided to focus primary on the 4th and 5th growths of St Julien and Margaux. It’s just to much chase every producer. The same with Burgundy. Due to availability and enjoyment, I’ve primarily stuck with the house styles of Jadot and Bouchard trying to understand their various 1er’s. With Piedmont, it’s the same; about 5-6 labels and usually the house blend and the Langhe, rather than the SVD’s due to their development time frame. With Rieslings a local vendor has always stocked Selbach Oster and Schaefer. Is there a pattern here… Diversity, but choices.

[Anton_D]

I purchase wines for the dinner-table. For nearly 35 years I have found wine to be my most agreeable dinner companion–when I envision an evening meal with family or friends I automatically picture a beverage (not always alcoholic) chosen to accompany, showcase, and pair with my dinner choices. Often the slight “buzz” stimulates or enlivens the conversation and fellowship around the meal. I find then that balance between fruit and acidity, tannins and smoothness…is more important than power. This often means that I prefer wines that have had the opportunity to rest and grow together in the cool confines of a cellar. Food and wine pairing is an inexact activity, more art than science…and unless the wine is faulty, you always get to drink your mistakes. So…what drives me to collect? What is my focus? Pleasure, diversion, actual improving the taste of wine by pairing with food or improving the taste of food by balancing or accentuating some nuance. I’m searching for perfection…but never find it. But I keep trying. As I’ve aged, my diet has changed and so has my palate. I drink far more white than red these days and lots of champagne since they work so well with nearly everything.

That was lovely.

[Anton_D]

Hi everyone,
I am new to the group and a relative newbie to wine although I’ve been studying for the CSW with the SWE for over a year now.

To get to know everyone and introduce myself, I thought I’d start a conversation on wine collecting! What drives you? What’s your focus?

Here is a list of things I have come up with:
Quality, Ratings/Scores
Drinkability
Age-worthy
Vintage

Looking at the collection as a whole, does anyone narrow their collection to factors like region, country, or producer? what about the drive to find cult classics or build a collection with wines from iconic wineries?

Anyone collect just for the fun of connecting with other collectors? I’m guilty of a bit of that

First, welcome to this crazy place!

What drives me: I think drinking wine is fun. I like tasting alone, or with food. Alone, or with other people! Truly, simply because it hits my fun bone and is adaptable to quaffing, guzzling, sipping, pairing with food, pontificating, my enjoyment of sunsets, all of it.

This sums it up for me…

My focus, as someone who grew up in the western desert, is to treat wine like a peyote button and just stop and enjoy the ones I happen upon naturally. So, I guess my focus is to wander aimlessly with wine on my mind and see what happens.

I like higher quality but hate ratings and scores.

I like drinkability, also pourability and wines that assume the shape of their container.

I like age worthy, I will try any vintage. I think even a crap vintage wine is better than no wine and I get a chance to see what each wine maker managed to do under the circumstances, I actually love off vintage wines just to gain insight into what really talented people managed to come up with given what nature handed out that year.

My collection as a whole follows one simple rule: A place for everything, and everything all over the place. I build up bottles from suggestions here or from fellow winos, found while traveling, and habit-buying what I’ve liked before.

As to your last question: yes, all for fun. I like connecting with others and hope you will stay with us for more fun!

And never forget…

[Marcus_Goodfellow]

My goal is to have a drinking person’s cellar that will provide the ability to enjoy the wines I love at different stages of maturity. I don’t buy cult wines or wines for investment purposes.

My focus is on German wines, riesling especially, but I also enjoy Oregon pinot noir and chardonnay, Champagne, California zinfandel/field blends, and more traditionally-styled California cabernet. A common theme is that I like wines with great acid structure. I plan to load up on certain vintages that may become sentimental in my lifetime (2015 is the only one thus far since starting this hobby, our wedding anniversary and a great year for Germany), but continue to buy my favorite producers year after year.

Drinking person’s cellar! Love it!

This is what I was trying to describe on our WB zoom a few weeks ago. We keep a few hundred bottles in the cellar at the house for drinking over the next 3-7 years, a couple hundred at the offsite reserved for true long term, birth years and special occasions and then backfill at auction those items that we want to try with 7-50 (only put 50 because that’s oldest I’ve bought) years age on them. The backfill has gotten more expensive in last 7-9 months but I’m not convinced that’s a permanent trend.

If someone wants to buy wines at release and hold for 10-15 years you need to be prepared to have storage for 1,000+ wines based on my calculation of at least 100 wines a year over 10 years.

Yup…Never enough storage.

I tend to buy producers that I am excited about from a wide range of cooler climate regions. Those tend to produce the wines that I prefer, and that typically will need the cellaring. It’s to have a range of choices, and but I also really enjoy watching the same wine evolve over time and to see how it changes and evolves.

It’s a great part of life, and good exercise(I just finished reorganizing the home cellar of about 30 cases.)


\

[Howard_Cooper]

I buy wines I like and can afford. Mostly, I buy producers I know - I have been buying wines for about 40 years. Where I want to try a producer who is new to me, I generally buy a bottle or two, not a case.

[Marshall_Manning]

I purchase wines for the dinner-table. For nearly 35 years I have found wine to be my most agreeable dinner companion–when I envision an evening meal with family or friends I automatically picture a beverage (not always alcoholic) chosen to accompany, showcase, and pair with my dinner choices. Often the slight “buzz” stimulates or enlivens the conversation and fellowship around the meal. I find then that balance between fruit and acidity, tannins and smoothness…is more important than power. This often means that I prefer wines that have had the opportunity to rest and grow together in the cool confines of a cellar. Food and wine pairing is an inexact activity, more art than science…and unless the wine is faulty, you always get to drink your mistakes. So…what drives me to collect? What is my focus? Pleasure, diversion, actual improving the taste of wine by pairing with food or improving the taste of food by balancing or accentuating some nuance. I’m searching for perfection…but never find it. But I keep trying. As I’ve aged, my diet has changed and so has my palate. I drink far more white than red these days and lots of champagne since they work so well with nearly everything.

That was lovely.

Yep… Steve has it exactly right.

[Ed_Steinway]

Steve is on the mark. We buy wines that we like, that go well with the food the we like, and that are in our price range. It is a fun and fascinating journey!

Ed

[JDavisRoby]

My goal is to have a drinking person’s cellar that will provide the ability to enjoy the wines I love at different stages of maturity. I don’t buy cult wines or wines for investment purposes.

My focus is on German wines, riesling especially, but I also enjoy Oregon pinot noir and chardonnay, Champagne, California zinfandel/field blends, and more traditionally-styled California cabernet. A common theme is that I like wines with great acid structure. I plan to load up on certain vintages that may become sentimental in my lifetime (2015 is the only one thus far since starting this hobby, our wedding anniversary and a great year for Germany), but continue to buy my favorite producers year after year.

Drinking person’s cellar! Love it!

This is what I was trying to describe on our WB zoom a few weeks ago. We keep a few hundred bottles in the cellar at the house for drinking over the next 3-7 years, a couple hundred at the offsite reserved for true long term, birth years and special occasions and then backfill at auction those items that we want to try with 7-50 (only put 50 because that’s oldest I’ve bought) years age on them. The backfill has gotten more expensive in last 7-9 months but I’m not convinced that’s a permanent trend.

If someone wants to buy wines at release and hold for 10-15 years you need to be prepared to have storage for 1,000+ wines based on my calculation of at least 100 wines a year over 10 years.

Yup…Never enough storage.

I tend to buy producers that I am excited about from a wide range of cooler climate regions. Those tend to produce the wines that I prefer, and that typically will need the cellaring. It’s to have a range of choices, and but I also really enjoy watching the same wine evolve over time and to see how it changes and evolves.

It’s a great part of life, and good exercise(I just finished reorganizing the home cellar of about 30 cases.)


\

Spent some time today rearranging. I like to keep my wines grouped by varietal and region. With the growth of Oregon Pinot in my cellar I’m starting to need to move things around to creat space.

[JBrochu]

It’s interesting how people do things their own way. I browse my cellar on the computer, and only go to the physical cellar to retrieve bottles. Therefore, my cellar has no specific arrangement by region, producer, or even color.

[Marcus_Goodfellow]

Hi everyone,
I am new to the group and a relative newbie to wine although I’ve been studying for the CSW with the SWE for over a year now.

To get to know everyone and introduce myself, I thought I’d start a conversation on wine collecting! What drives you? What’s your focus?

Here is a list of things I have come up with:
Quality, Ratings/Scores
Drinkability
Age-worthy
Vintage

Looking at the collection as a whole, does anyone narrow their collection to factors like region, country, or producer? what about the drive to find cult classics or build a collection with wines from iconic wineries?

Anyone collect just for the fun of connecting with other collectors? I’m guilty of a bit of that

First, welcome to this crazy place!

What drives me: I think drinking wine is fun. I like tasting alone, or with food. Alone, or with other people! Truly, simply because it hits my fun bone and is adaptable to quaffing, guzzling, sipping, pairing with food, pontificating, my enjoyment of sunsets, all of it.

This sums it up for me…

My focus, as someone who grew up in the western desert, is to treat wine like a peyote button and just stop and enjoy the ones I happen upon naturally. So, I guess my focus is to wander aimlessly with wine on my mind and see what happens.

I like higher quality but hate ratings and scores.

I like drinkability, also pourability and wines that assume the shape of their container.

I like age worthy, I will try any vintage. I think even a crap vintage wine is better than no wine and I get a chance to see what each wine maker managed to do under the circumstances, I actually love off vintage wines just to gain insight into what really talented people managed to come up with given what nature handed out that year.

My collection as a whole follows one simple rule: A place for everything, and everything all over the place. I build up bottles from suggestions here or from fellow winos, found while traveling, and habit-buying what I’ve liked before.

As to your last question: yes, all for fun. I like connecting with others and hope you will stay with us for more fun!

And never forget…

[Scott_Watkins]

LOL bringing back the past with a twist Anton!