I do love and try to live the mantra of pop them and enjoy them with good friends. That said, Im not going to be on my death bed talking to my wife about any wine we drank. I might be talking to her about the trip to Italy you mentioned. Life to me is about experiences for certain and If you can turn your savvy wine buying into more meaningful life experiences that you might not otherwise entertain I see no reason not to. Pleasure can be found everywhere in wine. A $10 bottle could be the best bottle you ever had, if it’s consumed in an amazing place with people you love.
If the difference between your Verset and another great Rhône could buy you an upgrade from inner cabin to ocean view, I’ll take the view any day of the week. If your not really making these types of choices in your life and can have it all then Why aren’t you drinking Verset everyday?
I guess it comes down to what’s the more important experience, for me wine is always high, but it’s not at the top. I’d trade it for experiences that make more sense to us. Of course there’s a different answer for everyone, but your wife’s hesitation to drink a wine of great expense might tell you something about where she values the experience.
Having art on the wall is consuming it. Perhaps a better analogy would be having many times the amount of art as you have wall space. You change up what’s hanging now and then, but will never get to everything, and you keep buying more. A couple dozen of the paintings just sitting there stored in the basement have greatly appreciated in value. They are among the far too many you’d eventually like to hang up. You might even be a little uncomfortable putting up the most expensive ones. Would you consider selling any?
I agree that you should understand market value, but you need to carefully consider what you could actually realize on a bottle, not what WS says it costs. It’s usually quite different. I went through this exercise with a friend who was trying to decide if he should buy an allocation of a CA Cab, and in the end, even though WS low was well above list price, when everything was considered we decided that he had really better want to drink the wine for the price paid. There’s a similar calculation when trying to understand how much money you are effectively throwing away when you drink an expensive bottle.
The other thing is that we are human and bottles in our cellars can carry irrational, but meaningful value. If I’ve cellared a bottle from release, it’s more meaningful when I drink it than one I purchased yesterday (in addition to my confidence in its provenance). If I inherited it from my dad, that value is even higher. These things impact our actual experience (at least they do for me).
My goal is to not sell any wines that I truly love. I hope that prices don’t escalate to the point where I change my mind. I’m pretty selective about drinking bottles that have become very valuable, but usually that just means picking a particular group of people to drink them with. Our local groups have a few events a year where we try to step up the wines. Those are good occasions to open bottles that are otherwise “too expensive to drink.”
I seldom sell wines. But I did. And the motive was always that I thought the wine is expensive but not really good. At least I could have the same pleasure or even more with wines of the same type but for less money. Some people say you get what you pay for. I have learned that this is not always true. A wine can be expensive but not really outstanding. This is something people who focus too much on a label will never believe.
The inverse is true as well! Lots of outstanding wine out there for fair prices, perhaps just not with the so-called fancy labels. I drink many of these wines.
The only wine I ever sold was 1991 Maya. I had a few of them that I sold in 1999 for $475 each. Was an insane price back then, and back then, I actually did need a little spare cash. Once in a while I regretted it, but just checked, and I can still grab some for $495.
Not a proper analogy. I wouldn’t plan on selling my appreciated house or wine for what I paid for it.
The real analogy is are you continuing to live in your appreciated house or have you sold it to cash in. Right now, I have not cashed in either my house or my wines. Are you selling your DRC?
Whether to sell appreciated wine is something I and probably virtually every wine collector my age or so on this board have faced since we first started drinking wine. I mean, in the early to mid 1980s, we all were buying futures on classified 1982 Bordeaux for about $9-13 a bottle and could buy things like 1984 Ridge Monte Bello for $20 and DRC Grands Echezeaux for $35 (all prices I actually paid).
I have always watched much more what I paid for the wine than its retail value often wondering if I could really get anything near what I see as the retail price for selling the wine. As long I paid a reasonable price for the wine and my finances were ok, I drank the wine.
And, I still do. The only wines I have ever sold were wines were a few wines that I didn’t care that much about where I could convert the wines into something I wanted more but did not want to pay the price for. So, I in essence traded 2000 Carruades de Lafite for some half bottles of Yquem. Did this with several wines about 5-7 years ago.
It does get harder all the time. Prices for some wines are now at insane levels. It is really strange to watch the prices of my favorite wine producer, Jacky Truchot, go to higher and higher levels. The wines were really reasonably priced for what they are when I bought them. But, look at prices now. Where to buy Truchot | prices & local stores in USA And, when I look at CellarTracker, I see that 16 of my top 20 wines in value are Truchots (labels, not bottles, as I may have multiple bottles of several of these) - the only outliers being 1990 Cheval Blanc at 10, 2015 Mugneret-Gibourg Echezeaux at 14, and 1990 Latour and Lafite at 16 and 17.
So far, I have kept drinking them with friends, who also are Truchot collectors, and really enjoying them. And, it would be a hard sell because I have met Jacky Truchot on a number of occasions and would feel like a traitor selling them. But, if I ever did, it would most likely be the 2005 Bourgogne Rouge or the 2006 MSD les Sorbes and not the grand crus because the grand crus are really so special to me.
Any analogy to something that can be consumed over and over again is just dead wrong. A special bottle of wine gives one experience, one memory. Of you have a wonderful experience, with friends and or loved ones, it can be a powerful and lingering memory that is worth far more than the opportunity cost of selling. If you drink it out of styro in a fast food restaurant, less so.
I collected birth year wine for my older son (1989) and focused on bordeaux and nebbiolo. Years later when he went into law school I asked—sell for tuition or keep? He said sell and I did both happily (he has the good judgment to sell things when needed) and reluctantly (would he share with me!). Easily took care of more than a year. My reasoning, and I’m sticking with it, is any wine worth north of 200 dollars and for a good cause is done! They are just things, and I value many things more. Groundhog Day 45 Mike
Thanks to all of you for your thoughts on this. I’m still debating…it’s a combination of trying to balance passion and emotional connection with certain wines and producers, some which I might never have the opportunity to try again, but also trying to do what makes economic sense.
I totally get this too, Howard. While the Cornas from Clape haven’t appreciated nearly as much as Verset, I don’t think I’d sell them because I’ve been to the cellars, tasted with the family, and feel more of a connection there (even thought they probably wouldn’t remember ME ). For many of us, the wines we love can bring back memories and experiences in our past.
Ask a simple question: what gives you more fun: opening a bottle that is inexpensive and awesome, or opening a bottle worth a lot of money and is awesome. Now factor in the “there is no such thing as good vintages, only good bottles”. Now add in the shelter at home and a need to do somethings that elevate the mundane to the supreme but may be more like masturbation (self gratifying). Then add in the story behind the acquisition. No right answer—a 1% issue for sure.
I sort of understand but it sounds like some of you, for instance, have cases and cases of Truchot, and selling some would not significantly negatively impact the supply and it would also allow others to experience the magic—something maybe Mssr. Truchot would appreciate.
i always struggle with ‘value’ when it comes to wine. there is a huge lack of transparency in the market in my opinion. i just drank a wine from a cult burgundy producer that i purchased before they were on the radar. i just took a peek at wine-searcher and the same bottle ranges from $168 to $945. auction results over the past two years range from $380 all the way to $1200 per bottle. what exactly is this wine worth? clearly there are many factors at play but ultimately it is worth only as much as what someone believes it to be worth. belief is often manipulated with marketing. in today’s day and age, this type of perception management accounts for a huge role in driving up prices. how sustainable is it though?
I’ve never understood wine drinkers who wear the “I’ve never sold a bottle of wine” badge. I was once offered $1000 for a bottle of 07 Schrader CCS. I sold it and never looked back. Just common sense in my opinion.
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). For many of us, the wines we love can bring back memories and experiences in our past.