Yes we evaluated our mailing lists several years ago and dropped almost all of them. I am down to only one CA mail list and one Italian wine club. I agree with your comment on CellarTracker - I have everything in there but it’s so much easier just to go down to the cellar and pull a bottle or two.
Lots of great wines at great values, particularly on the whites. In additional to Germans, we also found we’ve been drinking a lot of southern Italian and Sicilian whites.
Hi Neal - We have a good size cellar but we continue to explore new areas, etc. so I really should go through and sell some wines that we aren’t drinking to make room for others. Ive been a bit lazy going to auction so maybe I should post some on Commerce Corner!
I’ve culled most of the wine lists. And I used this year to mostly get everything in the cellar - I have maybe a few cases pending, one CA mail list, and one wine club. It’s pretty close to our “retirement” cellar. But the temptation to try new things is real, so I’m not sure it’s realistic to not buy at all. If I can keep the purchase/drink ratio at least even, I’ll be making progress!
I hear ya! Based on my current cellar and rate of consumption, I already have a 15-year supply of wine. So, I’m going to cut back on the number of mailing lists, cut back on the number of bottles ordered per mailing list, and drop off of every retailer email list, including Garagiste.
TBH for me its not an age or supply problem - but the problem is I have no willpower. Oh, compelling offer? Even though its something unlikely to go up in price? Yeah I’ll take it.
With the pricing drop this year in Bordeaux at least it helped me focus on the more investment tiers; 2020 BDX will almost definitely be allocation wines only…with a sucker spot for pontet canet and canon
My goal is to drink a lot of rieslings and Pinot noirs!
2020 has taught me a few things…or at least I finally tumbled to some hard facts I already knew. Life’s too short so stop waiting for the “perfect occasion” to open something rare and expensive. Drink better, drink younger, drink with more people and stop worrying whether they’re worth it or capable of appreciating it. Be lots more generous with my time, my wine, my attention. Create more occasions to be generous.
Regarding my buying…stop buying shit I’ll never be here to drink. I drank far more champagne this year than ever…already upped my purchases. Drank far less Cabernet or Bordeaux…cut back on buying. Drank far more intermediate white wines this year than ever before. Buy less pinot, less chardonnay; buy far more cal/Ital unbaked high acid whites and blends (like Massican, Ryme, Arbe Garbe). Buy more Grenache Blanc, Vermentino, Verdicchio, Arneis, Chenin Blanc, Semillion, Pinot Gris. These are the varietals I drink most often and pair well with the foods I’m more likely to eat.
I guess it all comes down to trying to be more conscious about what I buy and what I drink.
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cant agree with this more! Happy New Year!
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Wow…Steve, you said it all and are spot-on. Happy New Year! 
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I just want to stick to my budget. And not upgrade my off-site storage again.
Every night is open that bottle night. If I want to drink it, then it’s fair game.
Another +1 for Steve!
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What a night that was! Pre-pandemic.
Hope you are well.
In 2020, I added a “friends who aren’t into wine” bin. They are good wines that are ready to drink with or without food. Whenever these friends visit, I just reach in and grab whatever bottle without having to think about it. We can still talk about the wine a bit, but it’s more about just getting together and having conversation.
Oh, and feel free to join us on the Dryuary thread!
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My own resolution would be to decant, decant, decant. I have wasted many a first glass because I farted around and didn’t open anything until just before sitting down to dinner.
On a related note, I would like to follow more wines over the course of a few days. I have FOMO about wine going bad in the fridge, so I tend to drink more on Day 1 and rarely have anything left but a dribble on Day 3. I’d like to reverse that.
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Use ah-so opener more often.
I hate resolutions, maybe I’ll just call them aspirations at present…
To back-fill in older vintages of what I like
To search for uncommon values in older vintages within producers I don’t have
To create great wine experiences for family and friends
I think if I can go through 2021 with that in mind, I’ll end up happy at year end.
Being more picky on producers and better planning with my budget to leverage into higher quantity purchases of good deals on top notch wines. More back filling on ready to drink wines.
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Same. While I do want to explore some more (particularly into more Oregon pinot/chard producers and finally check out Desire Lines), I’m pretty dialed in to which bottlings from which producers I like most and I want to buy more than 2 or 3 to enjoy through the life of the wine.
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In 2021 i will try and add a decent amount of Côte-Rôtie to my collection. Thats it.