My mistake in wine collecting was how I allocated the overall money I spent. I would have spent the same amount of money which is a significant amount and bought less overall and more high end bottles (bottles over $500+).
I refinanced my mortgage several years ago and got an insane deal through Merrill Lynch and part of the deal was I had to go through a financial planning exercise and when we added up my spending and the rep saw my wine and food line he said ah uh ah uh I have never seen anything like that before : )
To add some color behind this I feel you can buy great everyday drinkers at any time especially if, like me. you love German riesling. My average daily drinker is probably more than it should be because I have so many wines to get through.
Don’t buy mediocre wine and store it. Yes one of my big mistakes because I don’t have a doorman in NYC I buy a lot of fun wines or geeky wines that end up in storage and I forgot about them.
We have a lot in common. By all rights I should be done buying. Similarly was pretty careful about what I bought, and now need to remain focused on keeping my wife’s Champagne addiction satisfied.
Always tough when we see our mortality in front of us. Instead of spending on things though, think about what a gift to someone’s education might mean, or providing means to advance social causes you believe in dearly. Much better than consumptive activities like wine or food and you get the warm fuzzies from knowing you are helping advance people in a better direction.
When I 1st saw the thread title, I thought you were going to say something about accessing your cellar when you’re too old.
I have 2 cellars, one is passive deep in my ‘finished’ crawlspace. I’m 50 and in shape and hate crawling in there now to deposit or occasionally grab something to move into my active basement cellar.
Loathe to think how I’ll get in & out of there over the coming decades if my knees or back ever go.
Good advice from several here. Trying to follow much of it. Buy now, so I can stop/ severly curtail buying once into retirement (if I retire).
As a 70 year-old with a passive crawlspace cellar you are right to be thinking ahead. I can tell you with certainty that trips to the crawl space do not get easier.
Much of what I have done is a repeat of what others have said.
First, I adopted the view that my cellar will be a legacy for my son. Although my buying has certainly slowed significantly I still buy wine. After all building a vibrant cellar is part of the fun.
Second, I focus on quality. No more daily drinker red wines, I have plenty of top quality red wine for the foreseeable future. I do buy some white wine quaffers for summer consumption.
Third, my overall % of white wine and champagne purchases has increased.
Finally, when my get’in old light blinked on my cellar size was at ~ 2800 bottles. I took a look at my consumption habits and decided that a cellar of 1700 - 2000 bottles can supply me with an ongoing supply of the aged wines that I prefer. I am actively working my cellar down to that size.
Get on the Screaming Eagle list and buy every bottle you can get your hands on.
Pick a great recent vintage for each of Bordeaux, Barolo and Hermitage and go long on top flight wines from all three areas. If you absolutely have to, you can include Burgundy.
Watch carefully for up and coming main line regions and buy good vintages. In 1991, that would have meant a lot of 1991, 1994 and 1995 Cali Cabs.
Don’t forget sweet wines from a few great years. They are available cheap because it takes so long for them to get to their peak.
Spend amounts you think are absurd for stuff approaching its drinking window (1982 Bordeaux, 1974 Cali Cab). You only think it’s too expensive.
BUY GOOD STORAGE!
Don’t ignore other regions. OH! Had I only bought Vega Sicilia, Pingus, Grange, Masseto, etc.
DO NOT BE PAROCHIAL! Buy a broad representation of lots of things.
After not having purchased any red since the '05 vintage, I hopped back on the Bordeaux bus this year for some odds and ends and wedding year wine (Carmes Haut Brion and Beau Sejour Becot so far). I will probably dip back in for the kids but not remotely close to the levels of previous years.
If I may offer a perspective from someone far further from having to consider these questions (I’m 32).
My grandfather loved Red Bordeaux and my grandmother loved Sauternes. Their drinking decreased substantially in their 80s, but they saw that I (in my earliest 20s) was starting to develop a real, enduring love for wine. So they shared almost every bottle remaining in their cellar (only about 80 at the time; they had stopped buying after the 2000 release) with me over the course of about 6 years. That was an incredible experience for me, not only for the unparalleled opportunity to drink fully mature Bordeaux, but for the chance to bond with my grandparents over something we all loved. Those evenings are memories I will cherish for the rest of my life.
I guess what I’m saying is: I can’t speak to the buying, which depends of course on finances, space, inclination, what have you. But as for the drinking: use these wines as an opportunity to connect with the younger people in your life and pass your passion on. Don’t leave them for people to inherit. I wouldn’t enjoy the ‘76 Yquem we had in 2009 even 10% as much today as I did with them, my grandmother with tears of pleasure in her eyes.
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