If you’ve been a wine lover for a long time, maybe the idea of starting a wine collection has crossed your mind. Wine collections are a great way for amateurs to always have their favorite wines on hand. We recently read an article on how to pick the perfect wine for special occasions, and one of the choices cited was aged wines. And, the best way to age wine is to do it yourself in your cellar.
The only issue is that buying wines as a collector is very different from buying them as an amateur. It’s easy to make mistakes with your first wines, but when you have a solid foundation, you’ll know which ones are worth it and which ones would be a waste of money. Let’s take a look at what the people at Underground Cellar had to say on how to start a wine collection.
Start with a Big Enough War Chest
You need to have a lot of disposable income to start a serious wine collection. It’s not only the wines that will cost you, but the equipment too. You might have to make modifications to your space or pay a third party to store the bottles for you. There are other things such as documentation, insurance, and security you’ll have to worry about as well. So, if you’re having trouble making rent, don’t even think about it.
Keep Track of Your Bottles
You will also need to keep a journal of the bottles in your inventory. This will allow you to avoid buying too much of the same wine. You’ll also be able to have better control over your purchases. You might also want to drink some of your wines, so you have to know which of your bottles have been opened and which ones have not. Thankfully, there are software solutions that can help you with this, but you can keep everything written down with pen and paper as well.
Understand what Makes a Wine Valuable
Many things have to be considered when looking at the price of a bottle of wine and unless you understand what makes a bottle valuable, you might end up overpaying. One of the most important things is scarcity. A rare wine will usually increase in value over time. Initial value plays an important role as well. You can’t expect a bottle of Santa Julia, as good as it is, to start skyrocketing in price.
Sometimes, it’s the story surrounding the bottle that makes a difference. For instance, two bottles of champagne were sold for $78,400 because they were recovered from a 170-year-old shipwreck. So, if you find a bottle with a great story, you could have a treasure on your hands.
Other very important factors include how great the vintage is, the reputation of the vineyard, and the score of critics.
Keep Track of Documentation
You have to make sure that you keep all the documentation on your wines. And by all, we mean all. Whether it’s a receipt, auction text, or the business card of whoever sold it to you, the more you have, the more it becomes traceable. Also, you have to make sure that you constantly have your inventory appraised as wines can greatly fluctuate in value year after year.
Now that you know a bit more about how to start a wine collection, you can start hunting for great finds. We would suggest that you start small and learn as much about wine collecting and wine in general before spending a dime.
To read more on topics like this, check out the Life Tips category
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