Your Birth Year Buying Philosophy

[Alex_Valdes]

I agree with Howard on marriage year wines…

Marriage year, college graduation year, highschool graduation year, year I got my first car: if the vintage is good I will find a way to convince myself to buy more

[David_Glasser]

I agree with Howard on marriage year wines…

Marriage year, college graduation year, highschool graduation year, year I got my first car: if the vintage is good I will find a way to convince myself to buy more

LOL, believe me I have used all of those as reasons to buy!

[Scott_Jameson]

My oldest will be 38 this year, and we still drink a birth year wine with each of our kids on or around their birthdays. We also bought large format - up to 9 liters - CA Cabs and have enjoyed most of those at various celebrations. The Cabs we purchased include Caymus, Diamond Creek, Dunn, Heitz, Mayacamas, and Ridge. We also bought ports, if the vintage was declared, and a few first growth Bordeaux and top-end Burgundy. Many of the latter bottles went to auction and ended up helping pay for college as their values soared. I’m still torn about making that decision, but …

[Todd_Hamina]

Consider adding armagnac to the buying list as well (especially for trickier years).

[Jeff_M1]

I have a 2020 baby and am bummed that Napa will be a tough vintage buy for his birth year. I will definitely be seeking out BDX and some Aussie Shiraz in their place.

[Jim_Erwin]

We are in our late 70’s and have three children (wedding years 2000, 2010, 2012) and four grandchildren (birth years 2004, 2007, 2013, 2016). This is how we structured one of the “wedding year” collections and one of the "birth year "collections.

Bottles Wedding Year 2000 Drink Yr
2 Vallana Gattinara 2020-21
2 Ch. Haut-Batailley 2022-23
1 Ch. Cantenac Brown 2024
2 Ch. Larrivet-Haut-Brion 2025-26
1 Ch. Cantenac Brown 2027
2 Ch. du Tertre 2028-29
2 Ch. Branaire Ducru 2030-31
2 Ch. Sociando-Mallet 2032-33
1 Ch. Sociando-Mallet 2034
1 Château Léoville Barton 2035
2 Château La Conseillante 2036-37
2 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 2038-39
2 Château Figeac 2040-41
2 Ch. Montrose 2042-43

Bottles Birth Year 2016 Drink Yr
1 Vieux Donjon CdP 2037
1 Clos des Brusquières CdP 2038
1 Terre Nere Etna Guardiola 2039
1 La Ca’ Barbaresco Montestefano 2040
1 Gr-Puy-Lacoste 2041
2 Felsina Rancia CCR 2042-43
1 Beaucastel CNdP 2044
2 Pavie Macquin, Rauzan-Ségla 2045-46
1 Branaire-Ducru 2047
2 Giacomo Fenocchio Barolo Villero 2048-49
2 Paolo Scavino Barolo Bric dël Fiasc 2050-51
2 Pontet Canet 2052-53
1 Dow Vintage Port 2054
Wedding Head Table
2 Felsina Fontalloro 1.5L 2037-49
4 JJ Prum Wehl. Sonn. Auslese 2037-49

[JDVanHoose]

Hi Robert, lots of good advice here. Our sons were born in 1996 and 1999 and I did go a little crazy buying birth year wine for them. I have now whittled it down to about 4 cases for each son.

The wines selected are a mix of wines that can be enjoyed after 20 years up to 60 years later. For me the first thing I did was try and figure out which wine regions (globally) had good/very good/excellent vintages in 1996 and 1999. The I started acquiring wines from the better performing regions that would have a good prospect of going the distance.

the wines are;

1. Two bottle each of Chateau Yquem and German TBAs for their 50th and 60th birthdays. I choose these based on their proven longevity (Vintage Port could be an option if it is a declared vintage)
2. The remainder mostly a mix of red wines from Bordeaux ( incl a few 1st growths), Barolo, Burgundy, Australia (specially Penfolds Grange and Wendouree) that cover the 20 year to 50 year range
3. Good quality German Spatlese and Auslese that will comfortably go the 20 to 30 year time period

Another consideration I have come across recently - my younger son (now 21) is going to a lot of 21st birthday parties and it is really nice to be be able to give him a birth year wine as a gift to the birthday person. For this purpose you simply need a few cases of a decent well made red wine from a good region in the $30-$50 price range that has a good aging track record. A Rioja works as does a number of Aussies (e.g. Wynns Black Label Cab Sav) and there are heaps of Bdx chateau that will perform very well in this category not mention entry level Barolo and Barbaresco.

anyway looking for the wines is at least half the fun and for me it does not actually matter if they don’t end up liking wine or not. They can drink it or sell it - up to them

good luck Brodie

Wow I wish my parents had been into wine like you guys when I was born in 1959…

[Kris_Patten]

My suggestion is to put aside two sets of wines. One set is a gift to give them and they can do what they want with it-sell it if it makes sense for them. One set is wines you can drink with them when they and you are older. I would choose wines from a variety of classic regions that could age based on what you can afford and what works for the vintage. That is what I tried to do for my children (2001,2003,2006) although I keep remembering that I think I need a bottle or two of something for my younger two kids to make a complete case for them.

You are a saint, I bought them to drink for 20 years of birthdays, then my kids can have the rest when they turn 21.

[lleichtman]

I put away a case for each of 3 children. They all turned out to be beer drinkers and don’t like wine.

[Jim_Hanlon]

I have kids born in 2014 and 2016. Rather than save lots of bottles for them, I’ve put away magnums of some of my favorite wines that should last 25-60 years, depending on the wine. I plan to hand them over when they’re in their 20s, with a suggested order for drinking them, perhaps one per year with friends and family. Magnums really do age better, and I figure this way I can buy them a congratulatory drink after I’m no longer here to share it with them. Or they can sell them all and take a very nice vacation, I guess.

[Shoshana_Filene]

My kids were born in 2011 and 2015. The 2015 birth year is slightly easier to work with!

I have a lot of wine from 2005 (the year of my wedding), but did not go big on wines from my kid’s birth years for the reasons many of you have stated. Also because my experience buying for my birth year 1980 was pretty bad - with a few very expensive and hard to track down exceptions - and it is never my first choice to drink wines from that vintage.

I love the idea of the time capsule though. Maybe even a few bottles from every year of their life since birth with notes explaining why they were included. That makes it extremely personal and fun for the kids and for me when we open them (ideally together). Almost like a scrapbook or a picture album so they understand why I love the stuff in the first place!

[Danius_Barzdukas]

My suggestion is to put aside two sets of wines. One set is a gift to give them and they can do what they want with it-sell it if it makes sense for them. One set is wines you can drink with them when they and you are older. I would choose wines from a variety of classic regions that could age based on what you can afford and what works for the vintage. That is what I tried to do for my children (2001,2003,2006) although I keep remembering that I think I need a bottle or two of something for my younger two kids to make a complete case for them.

You are a saint, I bought them to drink for 20 years of birthdays, then my kids can have the rest when they turn 21.

Notice I said ‘tried to do’. I have not stored their wines separately, everything I have is somewhat randomly stored together. I kind of mentally remember what is for them, but at some point when I decide to give them their wines (housewarming or wedding gift would be best probably, not when they turn 21), I may search through my wines and just come up with three or four bottles from their birth years. I have thought about having a special case made to contain their wines, with their name and birth date. I would probably just wind up using a sharpie though.

[Alex_Valdes]

I have not stored their wines separately, everything I have is somewhat randomly stored together. I kind of mentally remember what is for them, but at some point when I decide to give them their wines (housewarming or wedding gift would be best probably, not when they turn 21), I may search through my wines and just come up with three or four bottles from their birth years.

I use cellar tracker to manage this. I have “bins” setup for each child so I can manage what I’ve stored for them. It’s just accounting but it does help me allocate and ensure I don’t pull anything I mean to keep put away.

[Danius_Barzdukas]

I have not stored their wines separately, everything I have is somewhat randomly stored together. I kind of mentally remember what is for them, but at some point when I decide to give them their wines (housewarming or wedding gift would be best probably, not when they turn 21), I may search through my wines and just come up with three or four bottles from their birth years.

I use cellar tracker to manage this. I have “bins” setup for each child so I can manage what I’ve stored for them. It’s just accounting but it does help me allocate and ensure I don’t pull anything I mean to keep put away.

Thanks Alex. Sounds like a good idea. Thanks for letting me know about that option.

[Chris_Seiber]

My sense is buying wine for the birth year of a child is more for the parent and less for the child, who may or may not really care. You will get a lot more out of buying wine from the year you were married.

Or at least, your plan should be based around an honest question of whether the wine is more for you, or for your son or daughter.

If it’s mostly for you, then buy things you think you’d like at that age. Hopefully, your child will still appreciate the moment and the idea of it, even if an old bottle of wine isn’t his or her thing at that age.

If it’s more for your son or daughter to hopefully enjoy, I would say (1) why not wait until your child is 10 or 15 or something, when you have some idea what they’re like, and (2) the odds are better with things like riesling and Sauternes, which a 21 year old will probably be more likely to enjoy than an old claret, plus which has very good odds of continuing to hold longer until maybe a 30th birthday or some time your child might appreciate wine more.

There is no big rush to buy the bottles when they’re first released – it’s not like buying a 2010 wine is hard these days, right? Plus, by then, the picture of which wines are going to age well to 21+ years is much better than it was when 2010s first hit the shelves.

[John_Glas]

My son told me he will never drink but I also said that when I was 15. His birth year is 2005 so I will be holding some in case he changes his mind.

[Howard_Cooper]

Both my husband and I have difficult, though not impossible, birth years, mine being the harder of the two. Finding a bottle is nice novelty, but not an active pursuit.

ha. My year is legitimately the worst of the 20th century. 1956. Only some Tokay decent. My kids did well and have cases of birth year wines and, fortunately, both enjoy and collect wine now. I like the index fund idea—inside a 529.

Yep. How Much You Need to Save for College - Savingforcollege.com

[David_K2]

My sense is buying wine for the birth year of a child is more for the parent and less for the child, who may or may not really care. You will get a lot more out of buying wine from the year you were married.

Or at least, your plan should be based around an honest question of whether the wine is more for you, or for your son or daughter.

If it’s mostly for you, then buy things you think you’d like at that age. Hopefully, your child will still appreciate the moment and the idea of it, even if an old bottle of wine isn’t his or her thing at that age.

If it’s more for your son or daughter to hopefully enjoy, I would say (1) why not wait until your child is 10 or 15 or something, when you have some idea what they’re like, and (2) the odds are better with things like riesling and Sauternes, which a 21 year old will probably be more likely to enjoy than an old claret, plus which has very good odds of continuing to hold longer until maybe a 30th birthday or some time your child might appreciate wine more.

There is no big rush to buy the bottles when they’re first released – it’s not like buying a 2010 wine is hard these days, right? Plus, by then, the picture of which wines are going to age well to 21+ years is much better than it was when 2010s first hit the shelves.

So when your kid is 10 years old you’ll have a better sense for whether they’ll prefer Burgundy or Bordeaux?

In all seriousness I agree with Howard. I feel like it’s really for the parent and an excuse to splurge. I bought a mag of Prum Auslese for each kid just for fun but am under no illusion they’ll necessarily like it and the idea of putting cases and cases away for someone who may not even like wine (or aged wine) doesn’t make a ton of sense to me.

[alan_weinberg]

Both my husband and I have difficult, though not impossible, birth years, mine being the harder of the two. Finding a bottle is nice novelty, but not an active pursuit.

ha. My year is legitimately the worst of the 20th century. 1956. Only some Tokay decent. My kids did well and have cases of birth year wines and, fortunately, both enjoy and collect wine now. I like the index fund idea—inside a 529.

Yep. How Much You Need to Save for College - Savingforcollege.com

depressing article re college cost. I thought $80,000 a year for law school was outrageous. Sounds like a bargain based on that info.

[AD_Northup]

ha. My year is legitimately the worst of the 20th century. 1956. Only some Tokay decent. My kids did well and have cases of birth year wines and, fortunately, both enjoy and collect wine now. I like the index fund idea—inside a 529.

Yep. How Much You Need to Save for College - Savingforcollege.com

depressing article re college cost. I thought $80,000 a year for law school was outrageous. Sounds like a bargain based on that info.

Have a 3 year old and 9 month old…financial advisor tells us we should be working towards having roughly 400k apiece for college, if we want to pay for undergrad for them, as things sit now…didn’t discuss if that only covers state schools