Tips on Starting a Wine Collection

Building a small wine collection with wines that are likely to be consumed within six months is relatively easy. You can almost buy any wine for this type of collection. However, if you are looking to build a larger collection with wine that you would like to age, there are some important factors that you have to keep in mind. The following seven tips will help you build a respectable wine collection:

1) Not all wines are created equally - this is especially true when it comes to how well a wine will age. Generally, wines that age well are well structured, acidic and tannic. It is the tannins, wine's natural preservatives that come from the skin of the grape, which will soften as time passes, resulting in a wine with a better bouquet and balance.

2) Price is the difference - when it comes to wines that age well, the general rule of thumb is the more expensive the wine the longer it will be able to be stored. For example, a bottle of wine that retails for $25 to $35 will keep for about 3 to 5 years. Wines over $40 can usually be kept for 5+ years. Generally wines under $25 are best consumed within a year or two.

3) Aging the wine - when it comes to aging the wine, it all depends on the year, the type of grape and the blend. Your best source for information is from the winery itself. Most wineries will provide information on their website on the best time to drink the specific vintage.

4) Proper storage is essential - one-way to easily ruin a good bottle of wine is storing it improperly. The three crucial factors to storing wine are temperature, humidity and light. For smaller collections, a wine fridge is ideal to store your wine; larger ones will require a cellar. And for the extreme collector, there are wine storage facilities available for rent. Whatever way you go, remember to set and monitor the temperature and humidity, which is typically 10-16ºC (50-55ºF) and 60-75% RH respectively.

5) Take it for a test drive - before you decide to buy a whole case of that new red you heard about on the radio, sample it first. Either buy one bottle or visit the winery to sample their wares. If the winery is too far away, you might be able to sample the wine at the local liquor store. Check their website for more details.

6) Be a bargain hunter - an easy way to build a respectable wine collection quickly is to look for discounts. You can usually get a discount if you buy in bulk, or through wholesale or even at the winery itself. There is no shame in buying a good wine at a discounted price. If you are a collector and plan on selling your collection, it is an investment, if you are just a connoisseur, well, it's smart shopping.

7) Know the best time to drink / sell your wine - once a wine reaches its ideal maturity, not only does the value drop, for those collectors looking to sell their wine, but the quality of the wine will eventually turn. If you are not careful, that bottle of wine you have been saving for years has now become a very expensive bottle of vinegar.

Now that you have the basic know how when it comes to building a wine collection, get out there and start sampling some of the best wines available.

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