wine collection?

Question

I would like to start collecting red wines. I was wondering if someone could help me out as to how to go about starting. I want to start out with something not so pricey but then work my way up. Does anyone favor wine from a certain country? Is It better, etc?

Answer 1

I love wine and frequently have a glass for dinner but a word of caution on collecting.

Most wine (like 95%) is meant to be drunk immediately or over a few years. So, collecting these wines for storing and aging would not be a good idea nor a good investment.
If you have the money and the desire to move forward, make sure you have the proper storage in place to keep your bottles at the right temperature. Before you buy anything for aging try to get yourself a bottle of the wine you want (a ready to drink already aged bottle) and make sure you like it.

Also keep in mind that the primary factor in pricing quality wines is the rarity. Contrary to an above poster, more expensive does not translate into it's aging qualities. There are many $80 wines that are meant to be drunk immediately and won't age well. Two different bottles of wine of similar quality and made from the same region can vary significantly in price because there was only 100 cases made of one and 10000 cases of the other. The 10000 case wine is great wine as is the 100 case wine. However the rarer wine will cost 2-3 times more and is only meant to impress (and it will only impress that rare person that knows wine well).

For the record, I usually keep a rotating 24 - 36 bottle collection in which any single bottle rarely lasts more than 6-8 months.

And, there are great wines made all over the world. No country has the monopoly on great wine. You will find your best bargains in wines from Chili and Australia and a few other countries. I also have wines from Germany, France, Italy, California and Long Island in my personal stash.

Answer 2

Some tips to help you -

1 °Not anybody has the dream-cellar to store wines - I very strongly suppose that also in the US you can find cellar-fridges - kinds of wardrobes - using few electricity - and supposed to work all year long - How much in F I dunno but in C the right temperature is 10/12°-
2000 $ is the price that you must invest in my country for such a thing

2° You must purchase your wines slowly - and before any decision make your own culture - in particular about the cru of the wine - means which soil - orientation of the fields - climate
etc
3° Local dealers must accept to order wines that they would not currently have in their shop
4° The vintage year is different for each origin - you must have calendars giving you for one production the good and bad years - never store bad years
5° The best wines that you can store are mostly italian, french
and maybe chilian - I would not trust germans who still have many efforts to do in order to be at the right level, easteuropean wines such as Georgia or Romania wines which are uuuurk - and if I appreciate sometimes aussie, south african wines or uruguay, I would restrain storing them.
Californian wines - I know under which methods they work, are probably wines to keep, after thorough inquiry :o)

6° Don't have eyes bigger than stomach - consider an average period of 6 years - thenmultiplicate by 52 ( sundays )
and build your collection within those 6 years - means at the end 300 - 300 is quite enough


As for the downthumb there's only one deep cretin who can do this - but now it's past 5 and he's gone - time to gargle with sour zin

Answer 3

This how I see this. Collectors collect. That simple. You can start buying what you can afford. Find a "Good and Knowledgeable" liquor store. The one I use for stuff other than Beer is big. They got all kinds of wines and whiskeys I never heard of and if they not have it they can special order it for me (I have done this with Scotch Whiskey). In time they can educate you on wines and storage. One interesting note I learned, many wines are going to screw and plastic caps. There may be a day we no longer see corks in a wine bottle (More expensive wine may be an exception).
Heck, for example, if I were a collector; I would have a .90 cent bottle of Boone's Farm Strawberry hill from when it first came out. Why? Because I would collect and it be an example of how someone started out in the wine industry (See what Boone's Farm sell for today). Also, the wines I do collect, using Boone's Farm as an example. I would learn as much as I could about their history. May even visit the company if I was ever in town. Then when I show my wine collection I could tell a story.

Answer 4

When you talk about "collecting" I assume you want to hold on to the wine for a certain amount of time. The first thing you need to think about is WHERE you're going to store you collection! You might want to check the prices of a small wine cellar before you start buying wine that will spoil if left in a warm environment!

Answer 5

If you are collecting, you will want to focus on mixing your collection with wines you can drink now, with wines that will improve with age , and mixing different styles of wines from different countries.

Basically, anything under $15 or $20 is meant to drink now. More expensive red wines are supposed to improve with age (but only will if they are well made to begin with; bad wine, at any price, never gets better). California cabernet is a good example of a wine that generally is best after 3 or 5 years and many improve for 10 - 20 years. Wine Spectator scores are not a terrible way to start, though you will develope your own rpeferences over time.

These are very, very broad generalizations; age-worthiness is a function of many things, price being just one. There are many $100 bottles of wine that are not worth aging, and a few $10 wines that are. But safe to say, there are very few wines under $20 that are intended to be stored away.

A good mix of reds would include Cabernet and Red Zinfandel from California, Pinot Noir from Oregon and Washngon, Barbera from Italy, Tempranillo, Rioja and Jumilla from Spain, and Shiraz from Australia. South American Malbec's are good value.

Good French wines are expensive for beginners, as are Brunello's from Italy, but work up to those; they are generally considered the finest wines in the world.

(I assume you have arranged for proper storage conditions. Without proper storage, collecting is waste of money, because wine left at room temperature is ruined in a matter of weeks).

Answer 6

I started with the standard California Cabernets and French Bordeauxs but eventually came to really love the Argentina and Chile Reds as well. Might want to try some Australians as well. Try finding a small wine store that you can establish and maintain a good relationship with and they will be able to help a lot. Good hunting!:):)

Answer 7

i have been trying to collect wines for 30 years, but alas.. i drink them