2018 Wine Goals

1. Continue rebalancing my collection with more European wines (Italy, Germany, France)

2. Given my storage is bursting at the seams, focus on fewer high-quality bottles

3. Drop off of more lists - made headway in 2017, but still a ways to go

4. Pull select wines out of storage to sample early - quit stockpiling wines I haven’t even tried yet

5. More champagne / sparkling

6. Spend less than 2017…significantly less!

Curious as to others’ goals…

Your number 6!!!

My goals are almost identical to yours, though I’ve largely rebalanced in terms of Europe. I would like to add more Northern Rhone and Oregon wines though. Additionally, I’d like to sample more Beaujolais.

Yea number 6

Survive my lower remodel with a new wine cellar.

More Champagne and sparkling Chenin Blanc
More red Burgundy

I am running out of storage so perhaps drink and buy a little less.

Hi Scott
Thanks for posting this. For the past couple of years, I’ve tried to be more focused on what I buy, less seeking bargains, but more seeking what I like or want to explore. Ostensibly this came about via having an intentionally size-constrained cellar, and that cellar being full. Here is 2017’s version, with comments on how I did


Aussies & NZ (In relative priority – the lower ones being case fillers more than a justification. More included here than I intend to buy, to allow a specific focus for the Auswine forum)
• Delatite Riesling
• Primo – Moda, Joseph SRS, or anything else from them
• Alkoomi Wandoo if still made
• Houghton Jack Mann
• Explore Aussie Nebbiolo (just had the Stephen Pannell to date) An interesting basic style nebbiolo from Casa Freschi - fair for the price & might seek out their fancier bottling.
• Te Mata Elston for populist Chardonnay fix, but also Church Road reserve if ever available for the full butterball experience.
• Tahbilk Marsanne / 1927 vines Marsanne
• Explore ‘new’ trends but with a hard focus on the more elegant / radical end of the spectrum Adelina Shiraz/Mataro, a newish producer aiming for lower alc%
• Wynns Black Label CS
• Wendouree Shiraz / Mataro
• Woodlands Margaret
• Best’s reds
Zip, nothing, Zilch, nada, etc. The Elston is the one I do need to remedy and the Jack Mann almost happened but I got distracted by other wines. Some of the others are listed more in hope than expectation that I’ll see them


Italy (in no particular order)
• Try more Cascina degli Ulivi, esp. their Gavi
• La Biancara. I loved the Masieri red I tried from them, so try some others but another bottle of the Masieri bought
• More Timorasso
• More Fumin
• Vino Santo from Trentino
• Taurasi, but avoiding high oak/alcohol
• Foradori (Teroldego, or any of their others) x 10
• More Antoniolo Gattinara and Ghemme/Gattinara from Torraccia del Piantavigne (but open to other producers) an old Berteletti & current Travaglini Gattina (Franchino & Travaglini & Vallana on order). Honorary mention to a Donnas, Carema and Vespolina, the latter two picked up in Torino.
• Try another Lacrima Morro d’Alba
• Drei Dona and San Patrignano from Emilia Romagna x 7(Magnificant, Cuvee Palazzo & Pruno, plus an Avi)
• Hauner Hiera (plus other wines from them) (Another Hiera picked up in Torino and another red from them )
• Explore off the beaten track regions / grapes x quite a bit. Definitely expanded my horizons.
• Tiefenbrunner Feldmarschall (to explore ageing it)
• Occhipinti reds + explore other Etna producers not pushing oak / alcohol Just the Frappato for now, others may follow.
• A bottle or two of Brachetto
• Cantine Del Notaio reds, rose or sweet wine
• Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (bad show Ian - why do these always drop out of the basket?)
• Isole e Olena Syrah
Plenty more bought

ROW and generic (in no particular order)
• Keep the Ch Lamartine Cahors topped up, including the odd magnum
• A little more Pinon sparkling Vouvray
• A little more Madiran / Bandol or similar from Southern France
• Traditional / Rustic Gigondas
• Keep drinking sweet wines, and backfill esp. in halves sort of doing ok, but I do need to order more
• Occasional German Riesling , ideally with a little age and continue tentative interest in German Pinot Noir I’ll cheat here and include a South Tyrol Pinot Noir
• Keep exploring Spain & Portugal – perhaps including some Buçaco red x lots. Buçaco white purchased, plus a couple of bottles of Colares, and quite a bit of Bairrada, some Dao, Douro, Alentejo and Algarve. Two rioja, plus Tondonia halves, vinho verde ‘discovered’.
• LdH 2005 Rioja reserva reds
• Musar Rosé
• Any interesting mature wines, but not too many over-mature x lots, but I think I need stop the buying of very mature / over-mature wines. I like the experience, but it’s not so popular at home
• Grab 2-3 other left-field natural wines to explore the genre a little more My 1st Pet Nat bought and good enough to rebuy! Nothing too weird, but I’m enjoying what I try
• The odd purchase off the beaten track e.g. Greece, Romania, Slovakia A fancy Chilean Carignan, but at only 8 countries represented in 2017 buying, perhaps a little too narrow.

Now to start thinking about 2018

Regards
Ian

Maintain. Adjust to add more champagne.

To continue drinking down my cellar, will continue to buy some wines for current drinking only, no more big reds or reds that need aging

Going with number 6 as well. I will Be ending my purchases of $200 plus bottles completely.

Lots of long time lists will be dropped. My willpower will be tested in Q12018. There are a literal handful that I will maintain. That’s it.

Given the vagaries of shipping, out of state retailers are going to take it in the shorts as well.

Scott,

Yours is a good list. I could subscribe to all but #4. I would replace it with a goal to reduce my cellar size by an additional 200 bottles.

Already have added more Champagne to be consumed in 2018. I had cut back on wine buying then my wife got on a tear and is buying cases for which we have no room. So, spending less may be a pipe dream.

#6!

Planning to retire in 3 years and travel N. America in an RV for several years+. Thus, storage is going to be a necessity and I simply have to get my cellar down to a reasonable level. As much as it pains me, I have to cut back on several mailing lists I have been on for a decade+ and I am going to fight like hell to only focus on buying Champagne. I’ll always buy some wine, but with retirement becoming a reality the collecting will be slowing dramatically as this crazy fun journey begins to wind down.

I have been trying to do a few of the original OP.

Drop Lists
Buy fewer bottles of the cheap daily drinkers (I have too many of these), more of the high end stuff
Drink more than I buy (always a goal but have yet to attain it)
more champagne
more European stuff, German to be specific
Drink my higher end wines sooner than later, enjoy the stuff!!

my main goals are based around continued exploration and taste expansion, as im fairly new to wine in general!

Drink more, buy less.

Doubt I’ll succeed, butgoal is to go the entire year without buying any wine (or beer) to lay down. I need to start drinking what I have to not only reduce the size of my holdings but to determine where I should focus my efforts when I commence buying again.

1. Keep dropping off of mailing lists
2. Split allocations with friends
3. Continue to drink down the cellar