The Responsibility to Teach

It seems to me that every experienced wine enthusiast has a responsibility to further this great hobby of ours by sharing it with others. I am not suggesting that one go door to door spreading the gospel of wine, but individuals should seek the opportunity to share what they know with the willing and the interested. Sharing one’s hobbies with others, especially friends and family, is the ultimate expression of your interest.

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Selecting a Bottle from a Sea of Good Choices

The average consumer is overwhelmed by the vast number of choices at the local wine shop or the liquor aisle in the supermarket. There are literally thousands of good wines to choose from, and without some background information, all you have is the label as a guide. If you are not a wine expert, you may feel intimidated to buy a new bottle without something or someone to help you choose.

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Is There Something Wrong With This Wine?

One of the most disheartening experiences of drinking wine is opening a special bottle, and minutes later, realizing that there may be something wrong with the wine itself. Not only is this aggravating, but it can be embarrassing to unknowingly gift or serve friends a tainted bottle during a dinner party or wine tasting.

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Why Start a Wine Cellar Anyway?

Many people born and raised in the United States see wine collecting as a pastime for the snobby and the wealthy. On the other hand, many Europeans view wine collecting as a utility of life. Why the different viewpoints and which is the correct way of thinking about a wine collection?

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Wine Collecting - "The Fundamentals"

Do you enjoy drinking wine? When you go to the liquor store, do the endless rows of different bottles fascinate you, do you want to try every single bottle? Do you ever go to Saturday wine tasting, and wish you could do something like that in your home? If you can answer yes to any or all of these questions, I suspect that at some point you have thought about starting a wine collection.

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The Laws of 18

Studies conducted at UC Davis suggest that raising your cellar temperature by 18°F over the recommended 52°F will accelerate the aging process by 100%. Wine stored at 70°F will mature twice as fast as wine stored at 52°F, and wine stored at 88°F will mature four times as fast. Conversely, wine stored at lower temperatures will mature more slowly.

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Large Format Bottles Add Interest and Ageablity to Your Collection

Ninety-five percent of the world’s wine is bottled in the three most familiar of the standard bottle sizes: the half bottle, full bottle, and the magnum.

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Anatomy of a Balanced Wine Cellar

Every wine collector has faced the challenge of balancing the various kinds of wine in their cellar. I am personally familiar with this frustration, having spent many evenings wondering how I could perfect my collection as a whole.

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