How to Collect Wine

Wine collecting is fun and challenging and affords you the chance to explore new parts of the world - in person or in taste only! Take the plunge!

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Wine Racks
• Wine Glasses
• Wine Bottle Openers
• Wine Refrigerators
• Wine - Red
• Wine - White
• Wine Spectator Subscription
• Room Thermometers

1. Start by finding a place to store your wine. There's no point in spending money on a collection unless you have a cool, dark place to store it.

2. Identify your interests. Do you want to collect reds, whites or both? Do you want to collect U.S. wines, international vintages or both? Create a "collecting plan" to help keep yourself focused.

3. Educate yourself. Subscribe to winery and specialty magazines and newsletters. Join local wine clubs and get to know local experts and wine merchants.

4. Consider joining "wine of the month" clubs. These are good ways to try wines you might not taste otherwise.

5. Attend local wine-tasting events and talk with other collectors to identify potential new wines.

6. Try only similar varieties when tasting wines in preparation for aging. You'll get a lot more out of a wine-tasting that focuses on one variety, say Sangiovese, than a wide selection of varieties.

7. Identify flavor characteristics and distinguish between vintages when tasting the single wine variety.

8. Wait until you know what you like and that you like the specific wine before buying in bulk.

9. Buy magnums for storage. They age well; since there is only one cork and the total bottle surface area is smaller for the volume of wine, there is less exposure to air and light.

10. Let merchants know what you are interested in and ask them to contact you if your requested wines become available.

11. Consider buying "wine futures," which can guarantee you access to some good international wines.

12. Visit a wine region for the day, a weekend or vacation. Schedule tastings at as many wineries as possible, and enjoy!

Tips & Warnings

• Place bottles on their sides to prevent corks from drying out and letting air into the bottles.
• Learn when to drink your wines. Whites should generally be consumed within one to three years of bottling; reds, within five to seven years of bottling. Some wines, however, can be consumed much sooner.
• Contrary to popular opinion, there are some white wines made for aging such as French chardonnay varieties.
• A cellar, basement or temperature-controlled refrigerator is ideal for wine storage. A kitchen is not - the temperature varies too much.
• Young bad wines become old bad wines. Don't expect a bad wine to age into something better.

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on 11/22/2005 So many areas are making good wines now - not just France and Napa, California - that it's likely you'll run into a winery on a trip. Stop by for a tour and wine-tasting.