Building a Wine Collection
I’ve touched base with some of this in my post about storing wines. So, for now, I am going to bypass any details about How to Store or Where to Store.
This is about selecting wines that you can start to build a wine collection. One of the first things I have always told my customers, was to start small and to keep in inexpensive. A small collection of 12 different wines, all under $10 is a great way to begin any wine collection.
Buying and Selecting
What wines should I select? This statement sort of goes along with the How should I stock my liquor cabinet? I think the best way to start is to pick out 6 different types of grapes and purchase 2 bottles of each. Definite wines to start out with should include:
Cabernet Sauvignon
Melot
Pinot Noir
Chardonnay
Sauvignon Blanc
Riesling
This will provide you with a good cross section of different wines that should satisfy many different tastes. Once this is established, you need to put a plan in place for future buying. When I go to wine shops, I generally pick out 6 wines that we would probably be drinking within the next 7 to 10 days and then I pick out 6 wines that I want to add to my collection. Doing this monthly, it a matter of a year, you could have almost 100 bottles in your collection!
Organization
I have four different sections of m wine cellar.
Immediate drinking
For guests and parties
For aging 1 to 3 years
For aging over 5 year
This way, I always know I can select the right wine for the right occasion. During the summer months, I will take the Sauvignon Blancs, Pinot Grigio, Roses out of the cellar and keep them in the refrigerator so they remain cold.
I still keep some of those same wines at cellar temperature,
When I put those wines in for future storing, I keep them a little harder to reach then the other wines. This so I will be hesitate about reaching up and out for that special wine
Types and Styles
I like to pick wines from different countries, but all having the same grape.
So my collection will always have Sauvignon Blancs from California, Washington State, New Zealand and Australia. THe same applies to most of my wines, White or Red. Its always interesting to see the difference between a Cabernet Sauvignon made in Australia, then from one made in California.
I think adding some Champagne and or Sparkling wine is a must. Then start exploring the idea of adding some dessert wines (ie Sauternes, Barsac, Icewine, etc) and other fortified wines (ie Port, Sherry, Maderia, etc)
Keeping
Here is where everyone can differ with their ideas and still have a good wine collection. In my cellar, I have sections reserved for the different types of wines, most broken down by grape (ie Cabernet Sauvignon / Bordeaux , Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Shiraz) and by country.
Having a wine collection is such a fun and adventurous thing to do. First, just picking out the wines and starting to store them is a lot of fun.. You just have to resist drinking them before you store them! Knowing that with almost any occasion (ie friends stopping by, special events, special dinner, etc) you will have a wine in your cellar just for that moment
Building a wine collection is so easy to start and over time it can be one of the better education aspects of wine. You get to purchase different grapes from different wineries, different countries, etc. You start to taste each of these and realize, Wow they can be different
Enjoy your wine collection!
There are some folks, that just like to add on to their collection and keep adding without actually drinking many of them. They could be looking to sell some of those wines at an action.
Me, I want to drink the wines I put aside