I’m curious about how you approach mailing lists that are very diverse (Bedrock comes to mind). Do you get at least one bottle of each wine or do you cherry pick, buying seasonally?
An example would be buying more whites and rose for the spring/summer/fall months versus buying more hearty reds for fall/winter months.
Thanks!
I place a lot of minimum and near-minimum type orders, rather than pare down to a few producers and buy cases upon cases each year of those.
That also allows me to be pretty choosy within a winery’s portfolio and buy the things I want, or the things I want to add into my overall holdings.
But it’s totally a personal preference. I’m very much of a diversity guy, but I get the other approach (find what you like best and mostly just drink that) as well.
New to a list, I go for breadth at first to get a sense of style. Over time I’ll know more about what I like (and have a chance to taste some I might not have ordered at release parties or elsewhere) and adjust accordingly. Bedrock is an example. Ordered broadly at first. Now, I like the reds, definitely, but find myself always regretting not having enough of the Rose around, so am moving towards purchasing more of that at the cost of some reds. Not really a seasonal thing for me as much as allocating what I’m willing to spend in a year.
I also like contrasting your question with a Williams-Selyem, for example, where it’s lots of options but all pinot (15, I think, in one recent release). In that case, I seem to never know what the heck to do and can’t justify the expense of buying some of everything. But haven’t been dissatisfied, either.
I spread it around. A couple of everything is ideal, unless there is a ridiculous QPR like the Rivers-Marie SC Pinot - I buy as much of that as they offer me.
I don’t feel as bad now for not taking my entire allocation(s) on things. My approach has been to cherry pick, but trying to get at least one of each offering. Sometimes it’s difficult if I want to stay in budget though.
I am only on a few lists, but I typically take one or two of everything, and up to six of my faves.
I think I will cherry pick more going forward. I will not add more lists, dammit.
This is what I do. Really the only downside is generally higher shipping costs for each wine ordered.
This. Lately I try to get at least two of something in each order, but if I’m new to a list I will just buy one of several wines to get a feel for it. Even if I know I like a wine, I likely haven’t tried the specific vintage of what I’m about to buy, so I find it difficult to go for 6 of one bottling.
Mostly, I buy 2-4 bottles from the release of 10 different lists, rather than 10 bottles from 2-4 different lists.
Bedrock is unique in that there is so much variety in their portfolio that you could almost drink only Bedrock and have all your needs covered 
Ok maybe not but compared to similar producers like Turley or Carlisle it’s difficult not to go for breadth.
My approach is to go for breadth until I decide what I really like, then later put more depth into those. As far as mailing lists, this year I’m going much more for depth with fewer producers.
I love diversity, but I also like to buy in 3s of a particular bottle. The thing I like the least is to like a bottle and then not have any more of it. If it is my first go from a list then I will likely buy 2 bottles of a bunch of things. If I know the list and which products I like best then I will tend to buy 3-4 bottles of the things I want and like.
I am trying to pick different wine varieties from the various vineyards to mix it up. I am buying a few more chardonnays this year where last year I had purchased pinot noirs. I just can’t buy everything I want.
I am on the other end. I buy multiples of every wine offered me in list I have a history with. I have gone narrower and deeper over time instead of more producers and less of each bottle.
Of course I have paired down my list over this time and then branched out to wine stores for diversity.
I prefer narrow and deep for wines that I know well. For new wineries, I like to try a little of everything and find my “sweet spot”. It can take awhile…