Start wine collection with what you know

I once heard a statistic that 90% of all wine sold in the United States is consumed within 24 hours of purchase. I have no idea if that’s true, but it sounds plausible, which, in turn, makes me very curious to meet the owners of the other 10%, people like me who like to let their wine hang around a little longer. What’s also curious to me is that the question I’ve been asked most since starting this column is “how do I start collecting wine.”

This obvious answer is simply to buy wine, but the reality is that collecting wine, just like everything else wine-related, is a bit more nuanced. With thousands of grapes, dozens of wine-producing countries, and an uncountable number of wineries in the world, buying wines at random isn’t the best way to grow a curated collection.

My first advice to potential collectors is to start with what you know. Look at the wines you drink regularly and buy similar but higher quality wines. Is the Grochau Cellars Commuter Cuvée ($20) your go-to Oregon pinot noir? Then search out a few bottles of The Eyrie Vineyards’ Original Vines pinot noir ($75) to lay down for a few years. Maybe you’re more into something heavier like the Justin Winery’s Paso Robles cabernet ($30). In that case, grab a few bottles of the Heitz Cellars’ Napa Valley cabernet ($70) or their single-vineyard bottlings ($120+). Once you know you like a certain region’s wines, it’s a bit easier to come to terms with spending money on wines that you may have never tasted (and may not try for several years still, if your willpower is strong enough).

This is how most of my personal cellar purchases happen. There are certain wine regions, Alsace in France, for example, that are always a joy for me to open. I make sure to collect multiple grapes, vintages and producers from the region for a well-rounded collection.

Another common collection tactic is to focus on a specific grape. Maybe you’ve fallen in love with Italian nebbiolo (who could blame you?), and you want to order it by the case from every producer you can find. Or maybe you’ve been bitten by the riesling bug and want to collect a few bottles from every country you can.

There’s truly no right way to begin a wine cellar, but there is definitely a wrong way. Collecting wine in the hopes it will increase its value is very financially risky. The chances of the wine you pick up from your local shop ever being worth more than the price you paid for it are almost nothing, but it’s also missing the entire point of collecting wine in the first place. Wine, especially older bottles, are meant to be shared. (I promise, it really does taste better with friends.)

Next week, we’ll take a deep dive into some of the wine you can buy right now to start your cellar off on the right track.