Lots of economic illiteracy here.
Wine is for drinking. Whenever I open a bottle that I bought for a fraction of current price, it actually adds to the pleasure of drinking it - I mentally pat myself on the back thinking “Good boy, that was a smart buy.”
And then you drive it off the lot and…depreciation bites you in the ass.
LOL, just got the Crush offering for backfills of Rougeard. Evidently some of my bottles are now supposedly worth $599. Just silly.
Greg would it bring you pleasure to sell the wine and then invest the proceeds in other wines you would drink? Not being flip, just curious if that might be a different way to look at it.
Again: I fully agree.
Wine is for drinking, enjoying, maybe self-education and experience …
If you think about selling a bottle that has significangtly increased in value your´re a “dealer” or “investor” and no more a wine lover.
And only if you sell it the increased value matters at all - otherwise it´s a bottle of (very) good wine.
The only reasons why I´d regret drinking a specific botte: either it´s too young - or I don´t have enough (maybe only one) and prefer to wait for a better opportunity.
^agree 100%
Disagree 100%
No one here gets to decide who is or isn’t a wine lover.
I just sold two bottles of white burgundy and bought almost 75 bottles of great 2017 Mosel Kabinett and Spatlese with the ‘profits’. I know which I will enjoy more.
Yes, but at least for me I have to factor in the attachment based on spending (in some cases) 20 years looking forward,to,drinking something. So sentimental value needs to be added to monetary value.
Agree 100%, especially with your example.
I’ve sold a total of 2 bottles of wine in my whole life. Two bottles of Maya that I paid $50 and sold for $575 right after the Parker 100 glory stamp of approval. That was long ago, and $575 x 2 helped fund a lot of yummy wine for me at a time I was a little cash stretched.
LOL, so I guess I am a dealer now! I’m no longer a wine lover.
There is a huge difference between some sales here and there, or trading, and folks who are true wine speculators and dealers.
I have this personal debate every once in a while (especially about Truchot these days, but also Roumier and my highly limited stash of DRC). I know what the economics say, but I love wine and detest the auction process, so I drink them.
Of course having a full cellar of choices (i.e. no need to backfill or use the proceeds to buy replacements) makes this easier.
As usual, written with such certainty, reducing the wine world to your own definition of right and wrong. Of course you can buy and sell wine and be a wine lover, collectors do it the whole time. They may have changing tastes, need the money or decide that’ a bottle is so ludicrously expensive, they can sell it and buy multiple cases of other wines or even go on holiday.
Whether or not people value wine at the current market or at the original price is entirely up to them, and If they do sell bottles they no longer feel comfortable drinking, they should not be told by some self imposed outsider that they are no longer wine lovers
Let me define the term for you. A wine lover is simply someone who loves wine. They come in all shapes and sizes, ideas, tastes, values, and income levels. You can be a serious dealer and still be a wine lover. You can never sell a bottle and not love wine but enjoy the occasional glass. To misquote Dryden, “here is God’s plenty” and so many ways to enjoy/love wine.
And as usual people on Berserkers get offended. That’s the one universal truth here.
In general I find the discussion of economic theory on WB to be humorous and deeply ironic. This site is littered with loveably batsh!t crazy posts detailing the pursuit, purchase and consumption of wine when viewed through an economic theory lens. It’s the ultimate straw man arguement that many of us use (including myself) when defending purchases. Sorry wife, the deal was too good to pass up! I would have been losing money if I didn’t buy that case of [insert wine here]!
I get it that seeing a large increase in value for a particular bottle of wine can lead to a brief moment of anxiety. That’s just your rational ecomic self crying out for sane decision making. Thankfully though, at least for me, that moment is exceedingly brief and thoroughly crushed by my overwhelming desire to enjoy said bottle of wine.
If you get more utility from selling valuable bottles than do so. Just don’t beat yourself up or deny yourself from enjoying a passion simply because of Wine-Searcher pricing.
Hardly, and I say bull$hit on this. If you are a poor winelover (compared to the gazillionaires on this bored) and have a range of wines in a price range you comfortably drink in and a wine goes significantly above that range which you think is silly, what is wrong with selling a bottle or two? Selling 1 or 2 bottles hardly makes you a “dealer”. Now Golodetz, he truly IS a dealer (who else buys wine in pallet quantities?!)
^^ +1
I have bought 15-20 bottles of Clos Rougeard some time back, based on reputation and unique caracter, but after trying a few I’ve realized it’s just not my thing.
Why wouldn’t I sell them at the current, crazy prices?! Because otherwise that would mean I’m not a wine lover? I call BS.
Alain
Selling because you don’t like the wine is not so much an economic decision…even if it results in a profit.
Now buying 15-20 bottles of a wine you have never tried, that’s a different problem.
Agree. Probably leaving a lot of value on the table by not purchasing at least two full cases. Wait this is the MacDonald thread right?
What we have here is a battle between logic and passion.
Logic says sell.
Passion says drink.
When the two are in equipoise, you are stuck with bottles in the cellar you can neither drink nor sell.
How this plays out will vary from person to person and wine to wine. Whether the wife asks pointedly “How much is that bottle worth now?” every time you open one can be an important external influence (speaking from experience).
I sold all my Lafite when the prices went nuts. Logic trumped passion.
Except for the 88 (wedding year) and 89 (daughter’s birth year). Passion trumped logic.
Many wines I’ve purchased have increased substantially in value. For the most part, I pay little attention except to shake my head and be glad I bought when I did. I am generally of a similar mind to those above who believe that the wine is for drinking, regardless of on-paper appreciation. On some few occasions, though, I’d rather have the money in my bank account, for any number of reasons. There have been times when my husband and I have decided that we wanted the cash more than the juice – the lovely rock on my finger being a bright sparkly example. Believe me, the La Tache almost won out, but in the end I am satisfied with our decision.
Then there’s a pure numbers component to the situation. I’m aware that only a very large price move on a single high-priced bottle or a large price move on a large position will actually make any difference to me financially. If one $30 bottle goes to $300, the extra $270 is just noise in the balance sheet. But such an increase on 100 bottles of that wine….? That’s significant enough to make me consider whether I want those 100 bottles more than I want some other wine, or a roof deck, or a car. Thinking practically doesn’t negate my wine lover credentials, it just makes me, well, practical.
I don’t think asking the question of when to drink a cherished bottle is all that difficult to comprehend. I am 100% of the mind that, as long as the wine was delicious when you opened it, you opened it at the right time. But on the other hand, if I only have a single bottle of a cherished wine, I am certainly going to consider when I open it. If I’m only going to have the experience once, it makes sense to me to try and make it the best experience possible. We all know that great wine experiences often have to do with much more than the wine: atmosphere, food, company, mental state. Knowing that, how is difficult to understand prefering to open a great wine when everything else has a good chance of falling into place? Don’t get me wrong, it’s can be delightful to pull a Big Gun bottle just ‘cause on a Tuesday – but that doesn’t in the least negate the potential upside of planning.