A bit of thread drift over in the JJ Prum discussion got me thinking about how my buying by producer has changed over the years, and why those changes have come about.
In the Prum thread, I made the assertion that German Riesling might be the only category where one could consistently buy the same top producers in quantity over a 20 year + period. Looking at my cellar by producer now versus a few snapshots over the years that I have to look back on, that is definitely the case. Not too many years ago, names like Roumier, Bachelet, Bartolo Mascarello and Conterno were near the top. Now they are much further down, not because I like them less, but because I simply haven’t been able to keep buying them due to price.
Here’s where I stand now:
Keller
Emrich-Schönleber
Antonio Vallanna
Egly-Ouriet
Daniel Rion
Ridge
Bruno Giacosa
Ratzenberger
Cavallotto
Taittinger
Diebolt-Vallois*
- I included #11 because the Egly-Ouriet position consists almost entirely of one wine, the NV Rose, albeit over multiple disgorgements.
A large part of the change comes from my point about changing prices above. While burgundy is still the largest holding in my cellar, only one producer remains on the list.
I think overall buying and drinking habits have had a huge influence as well. 10- 20 years ago, when I was single, I used to buy fewer, more expensive bottles, because I was mostly drinking wine at group dinners with a lot of high end wines. Over the years, especially since getting married, I’ve lost interest in those kinds of events, and now enjoy wine primarily at home over dinner with Jonathan, or with small groups of friends. The wines we reach for most often are more modestly priced, but still delicious, and we tend to buy them by the case(s) and love following them over the years together. Can’t do that with many beloved producers anymore, whether due to price, scarcity or both.
Another reason is a migration towards drinking a higher percentage of white wines than in the past, though we still drink more red by a tiny margin, mostly because we eat a lot of roast chickens. Notably, the next 10 positions on my list include only one red producer, with the rest being producers of Champagne, Chablis and more Riesling.
Champagne itself is a big reason for my dominant producer changes over time - I only started drinking champagne about 7 or 8 years ago, so I’ve had some catching up to do.
And Ridge came entirely from Jonathan’s dowry.
Thanks for reading my ramblings. I’d be interested to hear other people’s thoughts on the subject.