A well balanced wine cellar
When I stock a wine cellar for a client, I emphasize balance.
Most of the wine should be for every day use, and you will buy the most of these, and replenish them often. I personally drink Zinfandel for this class and my favorites are listed in the post prior to this.
These drink every day wines do not have to take up room in your cellar if you can't spare it. My "ready rack" for these wines is in my living room. Other than making sure the sun doesn't hit the wines, I take no other precautions. Since I will drink the wine in a few weeks at the longest, it doesn't require the delicate handling that is required for a wine that I am going to age.
There should also be fine wines that improve with age (if you have a place to store them) - these wines are expensive, so how much of your cellar they occupy depends on budget. These should be favorites you have tried before from good vintages. While not a great investment, after 10 - 20 years of aging these wines would be expensive, and difficult to find. Cabernet Sauvignon based wines (these include the Bordeaux wines of France) are usually on this this list, as can be Syrah, Merlot, Barolo and even a few whites such as those from Burgundy.
A related category are wines that represent special dates. Vintage Port is great for this, as it ages very well. Vintage Port is not made every year, so some dates can not be commemorated with Port. For those years any expensive Cabernet or Bordeaux should be age worthy, and the better the vintage, the more expensive it is. Port and Cab based wines are not released for several years after the grapes are picked, so do not dismay if you can't find a wine in the same year as the event.
Dessert wines and Champagne (and other sparkling wines) are always good to have on hand.
You should also think about aging some wines you don't know much about, just to see what you end up with, many wonderful (and not so wonderful) wines are found this way.
The last category is for wines that you don't prefer, but you may want to have around for guests.
A final note about bottle sizes. Magnums (double bottles) age the best, and dessert wines usually come in half bottles. Be prepared to have many shapes and sized bottles, and avoid any way of storing the wine that does not accommodate variety.
Most of the wine should be for every day use, and you will buy the most of these, and replenish them often. I personally drink Zinfandel for this class and my favorites are listed in the post prior to this.
These drink every day wines do not have to take up room in your cellar if you can't spare it. My "ready rack" for these wines is in my living room. Other than making sure the sun doesn't hit the wines, I take no other precautions. Since I will drink the wine in a few weeks at the longest, it doesn't require the delicate handling that is required for a wine that I am going to age.
There should also be fine wines that improve with age (if you have a place to store them) - these wines are expensive, so how much of your cellar they occupy depends on budget. These should be favorites you have tried before from good vintages. While not a great investment, after 10 - 20 years of aging these wines would be expensive, and difficult to find. Cabernet Sauvignon based wines (these include the Bordeaux wines of France) are usually on this this list, as can be Syrah, Merlot, Barolo and even a few whites such as those from Burgundy.
A related category are wines that represent special dates. Vintage Port is great for this, as it ages very well. Vintage Port is not made every year, so some dates can not be commemorated with Port. For those years any expensive Cabernet or Bordeaux should be age worthy, and the better the vintage, the more expensive it is. Port and Cab based wines are not released for several years after the grapes are picked, so do not dismay if you can't find a wine in the same year as the event.
Dessert wines and Champagne (and other sparkling wines) are always good to have on hand.
You should also think about aging some wines you don't know much about, just to see what you end up with, many wonderful (and not so wonderful) wines are found this way.
The last category is for wines that you don't prefer, but you may want to have around for guests.
A final note about bottle sizes. Magnums (double bottles) age the best, and dessert wines usually come in half bottles. Be prepared to have many shapes and sized bottles, and avoid any way of storing the wine that does not accommodate variety.
posted by Wineguy at 5:40 PM
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