Wine Collection or Wine Cellar | Starting a Wine Collection

This page contains tips and ideas for the person who wants to start a wine collection of wines to drink for every occasion throughout the year.

The main objective of a wine collection and cellar is to have a choice of selecting a wine appropriate to the occasion and the meal being served.

Tips & Ideas for Starting a Wine Collection or Cellar

• Select the ideal storage location in your home. It must meet the requirements for storing and aging wine.

• You need to stock the wine cellar with an initial investment of at least 24 or more bottles of wine.  Begin with a budget and initially buy the major varietals. For whites: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Gewürztraminer. For reds: Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon. Don’t forget about the dry rosé or some sparkling wine.

• Within that budget, buy wines over a price range that includes everyday wine, weekend wine, special occasion wine, and a great bottle wine for that very special occasion.

• Later, consider a few wines from France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand and lesser-known California varietals.

• If you have a good wine merchant near you, he or she will be very helpful in selecting wines. There are also numerous online wine merchants that offer advice. Check our Wine Related page for some of these merchants.

• Adopt a strategy for replacing and/or expanding your wine collection. Many wine retailers such as K&L Wines offer a variety of wine clubs. If you want to increase the number of bottles, buy an amount each month that exceeds your intake.

• As your wine cellar grows, so will the need to keep track of what you have stored. There are various database or spreadsheet programs that can help you with this. Try the WineBee for the PC or Mac. Try this Web site on collecting and storing wine: Carte du Vin