Mailing lists for a new collector

[H_Wallace_Jr]

@Kevin Richard Baker

the folks who say not to sign up for any are missing one very critical point. many of these lists may take years to get on.

Not missing that point at all. I just think it is ridiculous to sign up for a list before you’ve tried their wines. I’ve done it in the past with several of the labels listed above… Some have had lists with X year waiting lists open up sooner than before due to either economy, increased production, or people realizing their wine sark- ballz etc… I have some stupid stuff in my cellar that I don’t even want to gift due to this mistake.

[Nick_Ryan]

@Greg Casey

On they types of styles I like, I can say I have really enjoyed the Scherrer (both Russian River and Sonoma Coast) as well as Sojourn. I also had a couple of AP Vin bottles that I really enjoyed. I can’t say I have ever had a Burgundy. On the Rhone varietals I have been enjoying Tensley, Jaffurs, and I don’t think I have ever had a Chateneuf that I did not love though I can’t remember any names other than E. Guigal.

You’ll like Kosta-Browne for sure if you like AP Vin. Long wait.

The only real way to know is to suck it up and pay out the nose for bottles on the secondary market to see if you like it.

[C_Grimm]

While I would echo the comments about tasting a lot before committing to lists, as it sounds like you are looking for good value, I highly recomment Navarro (from the Anderson Valley) a source of stellar wines at prices way below what you would expect. They would certainly cover you on the Pinot noir and Chard front, but bottle many varieties and make what is quite possibly the best domestic Gewurz.

[Dan_Hammer]

Carlisle
Sojourn
EMH - just above $50. Great value for the $.
Anderson Conn Valley (ACV) - just above $50. Great value for the $.

Disclaimer, I own all of the above, and have visited the bottom three.

[Dan_Hammer]

Duplicate.

[Paul_McCourt]

@Kevin Richard Baker

the folks who say not to sign up for any are missing one very critical point. many of these lists may take years to get on. sign up for these. by the time you get on, hopefully you’ve had a few bottles and you can make your decision from there. imho waiting a few years to try something great and rare and THEN signing up and waiting even longer would really suck!

some to consider:

rhys
rochioli
marcassin
sine qua non
scarecrow
rivers marie (not too long a wait i’d imagine)

some of these are obviously much longer than others, but you get the idea.

IS there actually a Marcassin list?

[Rick_Gregory]

@H Wallace Jr

@Kevin Richard Baker

the folks who say not to sign up for any are missing one very critical point. many of these lists may take years to get on.

Not missing that point at all. I just think it is ridiculous to sign up for a list before you’ve tried their wines. I’ve done it in the past with several of the labels listed above… Some have had lists with X year waiting lists open up sooner than before due to either economy, increased production, or people realizing their wine sark- ballz etc… I have some stupid stuff in my cellar that I don’t even want to gift due to this mistake.

This. And how many list wines where it takes a long time to get on the list are really that unique? For example, at one point, the Marcassin list was very hard to get on… a friend got on, we tried the wines… and didn’t like them because of the overblown wood. Eh…

Other list wines might be awesome, but in this economy you can usually find them at retail or on the secondary market for not that much money so TRY THE WINE. I mean, forget that this is a list issue… would you really suggest that someone should order and cellar a bunch of wines in quantity without trying them to see if they like them first?

Greg’s also followed up and given us some feedback on what he likes, which makes recommendations easier - but the “you should be on this list” without reference to that seems silly.

[Greg_Casey]

I really appreciate the feedback. I probably misspoke in asking the question. I definitely plan on trying the different recommendations before running out and buying a ton of wines off of a mailing list. But at the same time I am trying to get a better feel of where I should be looking. I am fortunate to live in California and have the ability to try many wines at the wineries and am also in close proximity to some good retailers. Thanks again for all the feedback!

[mdaniel]

Sojourn & Siduri for good cabs & pinots you can try now.

As for mailing (waiting) lists, you might as well sign up for Carlisle, Rivers-Marie and Rhys since they all take 3 to 4 years to move off of the wait list. If in that time you decide against these types of wine, no harm done. But the longer you delay getting on the wait lsit, the longer you delay actually getting an allocation.

[James_Rodrigues]

Get your Avatar in the waiting list line for:
-Lewelling
-Cayuse
-Betz

All these are in your price range and what I believe to be great value. I am on Lewelling and Btz and still waiting for Cayuse. When the time comes that you make this list, try hard to locate and try a bottle to see what you think. Having these wait lists is also a bit of fun as you go wine searching and by chance find a bottle of a wine you are wait listed for. Lewelling and Cayuse are probably years of list waiting. Betz may be sooner but easier to find to try.

[T_Altmayer]

Copain, great pinot and syrah

[Frank_Smith]

@H Wallace Jr

@Kevin Richard Baker

the folks who say not to sign up for any are missing one very critical point. many of these lists may take years to get on.

Not missing that point at all. I just think it is ridiculous to sign up for a list before you’ve tried their wines. I’ve done it in the past with several of the labels listed above… Some have had lists with X year waiting lists open up sooner than before due to either economy, increased production, or people realizing their wine sark- ballz etc… I have some stupid stuff in my cellar that I don’t even want to gift due to this mistake.

I don’t think it’s ridiculous at all in some cases. It’s pretty difficult to try some producers such as Rhys and Kutch unless you buy from the list (or pay a hefty secondary market premium). And if he buys a few bottles from either of those producers and finds he doesn’t like them, he could easily get his cost back by putting them on Commerce Corner (or simply selling them to me ).

[Marc_Frontario]

trespass

[BobH]

None.

Any of the wines that anyone has mentioned can be purchased for not a whole lot more than what you’d get as a mailing list price. In many cases even less. There are plenty of brokers in California that buy wines off these lists and then will sell them to you. Let them do the work for you.

Buy wines and try them. Find out what you like. Then, and only then do you need to think about getting on ‘lists’.

As a young wine collector, I signed up for every list imaginable.

I am now on a grand total of 3. One because it is impossible to get on (SQN), one because the wines are cheapest for list members (Skewis) and 1 more just because it si easier to buy from the list than to pay less money at retail (shafer HSS) and that is only because I live in PA. I have also signed up for Hansel and Rhys, and you could say the third reason is the same.

[John_Webber]

Dehlinger (cab, pn, syrah, chard), Scherrer (cab, pn, chard, zin), Rhys (pn, chard, syrah), Rivers Marie (cab, pn, chard), and Peay (pn, chard, syrah).

[Loren_Sonkin]

Jaffurs. And for the next month, they have their futures program which gives you an extra 15% off. Great wines.

[Sean_Lenz]

If you like Cabs:
Karl Lawrence
Match

Prob the only I can think of that are good and under $50 in CA. Please chime in with additions.

[Sean_Lenz]

Guiliams.

[Frank_Murray_III]

Echoing other comments made earlier (and adding a few more) I´d offer the following, as I have been on these 5 lists for the long run in my cellar and continue to buy every year:

Copain
Novy
August West
Lucia
Loring

These are 5 wineries that you can by means of living in CA reach out and touch directly, they can be had still without a wait (I believe) and are passionate about what they do, with pricing that is very fair.

As for waiting lists and what to collect, get yourself onto the Carlisle wait list.

[Poppy_Davis]

I’m going to echo the advice of others on waiting to buy from lists until you know what you like. Try to go to every tasting event you can (http://www.localwineevents.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). Try all sorts of wines. Perhaps California isn’t going to be your favorite region. I used to work for an auction house and can’t tell you how many people I’ve seen over the years who were so gung-ho when they first got into wine, they just started buying anything and everything, especially from mailing lists. Then their palates developed and they discovered Bordeaux or Burgundy or Italians and suddenly they no longer want all that Cali wine sitting in their cellars. If you are buying sub-$50 wines, it will be very difficult to break even if you later decide you no longer want them.