I was reading the Saturday Wall Street Journal this morning, specifically Peggy Noonan's Rectitude Chic and a Heard on the Street article called For the jet set, a newfound austerity. Peggy references a coming "age of restraint" and in the other article discussing the private jet market, a UBS equity analyst says "Now, any display of wealth is negatively perceived." How is this public mood going to affect the wine collector?
One of the beauties of wine collecting is that it's a pursuit that can be conducted with discretion:
- Dinner party guests generally don't know the value of the wines unless you're serving broadly recognized trophy wines or they're wine collectors themselves. Even then, values of a given wine typically vary dramatically by vintage. You can be even more low key by decanting the wine and leaving the bottles in another room
- Avoid serving more grandiose formats like 6L bottles that might be interpreted as "showing off." Those bottles age better anyway so a few more years in the cellar won't hurt them.
- Your wine collection is probably hidden away in your basement or in a professional storage facility. Unless you're holding dinners in your cellar or giving tours, nobody really knows your true cellar size or the amount of money you've invested in it.
- If you buy expensive wine at auction, skip the live events in favor of absentee bidding or phone-based bidding to maintain a lower profile.
Bottom line: "Quiet enjoyment" should be your rule and it's an easy one to follow.
