Building your wine collection is as personal as selecting your wardrobe. You might require a certain number of suits and ties to get you through a typical week, and more casual clothes for a weekend retreat. At the same time, your closet probably reflects your personal sense of style, whether your passion is for expensive Italian ties or cowboy boots.
Your wine collection should be functional for your daily life and at the same time make a statement about you. So before you buy another bottle, it’s worth a moment to contemplate your wine collection’s reason of being. Are you collecting as an investment, or are you planning to enjoy all your purchases? Do you want ready to drink wines, or are you willing to save by aging the wines yourself? Are you collecting for the pleasure of parties and dinners, or do you want to build a tasting cellar as an educational and aesthetic tool? All these are important questions to start your wine cellar.
In addition, no matter what your collector’s philosophy, it’s a good idea to budget your purchases. Think of your purchases in terms of “everyday wines” costing under $20; “occasional wines” priced from $20 to $50, and “special wines” that may cost $50 or more.
In the near future, I will elaborate more and provide you with tips on how to create your own wine collection.