Over the past few months, I’ve pointed out in this blog the trend towards packaging and selling of fine wine in larger auction lots, mini-collections, and even large-scale, million-dollar-plus collections. As further evidence of the trend, a friend sent me a New York
retailer’s email offer yesterday which contained 3 different 7-case “cellars” at prices of approximately $9,000, $16,000, and $49,000 instead of the normal list of wines being sold by the bottle. In addition, a Wall Street Journal story yesterday by Christina S.N. Lewis , “
The Overnight Wine Collector” (subscription required), highlights how homebuilders have made cellars a standard feature in new homes, prompting many to skip the collecting phase and just write a check to fill empty cellars like the one shown. Risk factors
There’s nothing wrong with spending large sums of money on wine, either in large single purchases delivering an “instant” cellar or at a more measured pace. However, moving quickly and spending freely increases your risk of:
- Being overcharged
- Buying wines that are mismatched to your palate
- Being duped into buying expensive fakes or poor condition wine
Everyone “backfills” their cellar to some degree
When I got the wine collecting bug over a decade ago, I was impatient and sought to “backfill” my cellar with mature vintages of “ready to drink” wine while simultaneously purchasing new releases to put away. While I probably spent more in any single year in that first year or two, I made individual wine decisions in conjunction with advice from my trusted retailer at the time.
The right way for new collectors to proceed
- Get professional advice
- Choose a retailer with whom you can develop a trusted relationship (see my post “Criteria for choosing a good wine retailer”), or
- Hire a wine consultant. However, keep in mind that with fine wine, it’s all about access to supply which a retailer is more likely to have. Selecting a “dream list” of wine is meaningless unless the wine can be sourced on a cost effective basis.
- Define your taste preferences - You need not be a wine expert to answer some basic questions about likes and dislikes. Or, if your base of wine knowledge is too narrow, ask your retailer/adviser to put together a mixed case or two of wine of the desired quality level from various regions and comprised of different varietals. Then open them all with your adviser at one sitting to generate feedback to drive more educated selections. (Schedule a party for your friends afterwards to finish off the wine.)
- Provide budget guidance and ultimate goals – What’s your comfort zone on the price of a single bottle of wine? What’s your target average bottle cost? Do you have a bottle count objective (like filling the cellar of a newly purchased home)?
- Set the pace – At what pace would you like to proceed? In general, better wine tends to sell quickly when it becomes available. Also, some wine may need to be sourced in Europe which will extend delivery times. Therefore, very short timelines may make it difficult to optimize selections and pricing. Allowing even six months is sufficient to accomplish most objectives but if you’re committed to wine collecting, make the advisory relationship a permanent one.
- Authorize discretionary buying by your retailer/adviser – When desirable wine becomes available, permitting your retailer/adviser to make instant decisions on your behalf provides you with the highest chance of buying it before others. It’s also a lot more convenient than responding to frequent emails or phone calls.
Vinfolio’s free collection-building advisory service
Vinfolio offers its own collection-building service which assists wine collectors and enthusiasts through the process I have described above. By meeting certain initial; purchase minimums, our personalized planning services are free, including even face-to-face meetings in your home. Learn more about how we do it. Why not have your own “wine guy” to provide ongoing personalized advice?
