How to build a wine collection ?

Three key tips that do not involve purchasing a single bottle 

I have been delaying writing this since the title was suggested to me.  Nearly 25 years working in wine, a specialism in helping collectors select and build their cellars, and I find myself stumped by the most elementary of questions.   

Every tip that springs to mind – always buy by the case so you can follow a wine’s ageing curve – is immediately dismissed by annoyingly valid and credible counter elements – buying by the bottle gives you much more variety and can help limit storage costs. 

Turns out there are as many ways to build a wine collection as there are to skin the proverbial cat.  Plus, none of them is ‘the right way’.  Plus, most of us will probably find our own way to screw it up and find ourselves with wine we no longer know what to do with. 

In an effort to take a step back and unscramble my brain, I tried to think of three pieces of advice I would offer my young self if I was starting out today.  Turns out none of them involves the actual purchase of any wine…(at least, not directly)… 

1. Find a good merchant & build a relationship  

Having a quality wine merchant, who you get to know and trust, is invaluable.  You want a firm that assigns you an effective wine advisor, or account manager, or whatever else they choose to call it.  If this is someone prepared to put in the work to engage with you on an individual level, and to invest time into understanding what you like and want from your wine, you are on to a winner. 

Ideally, you want an advisor – never pushy! – who will guide you towards new wines and, at least equally as important, steer you away from poor choices.  Over the years, the wine merchant gets your loyalty and ongoing business; you get truly high calibre service and a cellar of wines you truly enjoy. 

Such a relationship is geared towards unlocking special allocations (of hard-to-buy wines), priority access to high-demand stock and, occasionally, preferential pricing – the bit where this piece of advice clearly does involve wine buying, contrary to what I wrote above!   

Having a good relationship with a quality merchant can literally be invaluable as you start to build a wine collection.  It can save you money, help you avoid expensive mistakes, unlock access to wines you may never have considered, and add considerable value to the entire process.

Obviously, we would love you to consider Vinum in this regard.  We have a team of experienced account managers, some based in Singapore and others working through our European business.  We think we have a world-class team – of course we think that! – who have proved their worth through long experience guiding collectors to bottles they love, but we invite you to hit the contact button or follow us online and see what you think for yourself. 

2. Buy a corkscrew and invest in some decent glasses 

I am perfectly prepared to accept that most people considering building a wine collection already own a corkscrew and at least three of four wine glasses.  However, you would not believe the number of collectors I have met over the years, with very substantial cellars, who appeared never to have opened an OWC (wine-speak for original wooden case), cut a capsule or poured a glass from a bottle I sold them. 

Many of the most experienced, knowledgeable, and, frankly, happy collectors I know are those who frequently wield their corkscrews and drink bottles.  In the same way that if I had been writing this 20 years ago, I would have made the case for buying en primeur / futures, but today I am less convinced, two decades ago very few people would have dreamed about uncorking young 1st growths, Barolo or Grand Cru Burgundy. 

Times have changed, climates have changed and the whole universe of wine has changed.  Even Vintage Port can be enjoyed before its 10th birthday as production techniques have evolved.  By getting to know your wine young, middle-aged and mature, you build up a better understanding of what it is you enjoy, and the age at which you enjoy it.  You become a more knowledgeable and better-informed collector and that will help guide your subsequent purchases. 

The purpose of building a collection of wine is to have a wonderful cellar of bottles to enjoy.  Postponing that enjoyment whilst you are hog tied by all the old fashioned ‘rules’, that made wine so exclusive in the past, is no fun for anyone – so grab that corkscrew! 

Investing in decent glasses is clearly related to the corkscrew point but having quality stemware really is crucial.  If you are going to be serious about buying good wine, and it follows that costs serious money, then you owe it to yourself not to be sipping it from a Paris goblet. 

Today there are almost as many wine glass options as there are 1er Crus in Burgundy.  Some of them cost almost as much.  In truth, Zalto, Riedel, Sys, Kvetna, etc are all pretty much interchangeable; you could make your choice based on personal stylistic preference or even price.  And I do not suggest trying to acquire a glass for every category of wine either – a multi-purpose, universal glass is a fine place to start.   

The important thing is that drinking from a quality glass will super-charge your wine game and elevate your experience.  That wine merchant I introduced you to above should be able to help you track down some good stems in your market. 

Ultimately, experiencing some of your bottles and drinking from a high quality glass will help you remember why you wanted to get into wine collecting in the first place. 

 3. Find your tribe 

This is about finding a tasting group or regular wine dinners you can join.  Having a channel in which to share your collection, and benefit from others sharing theirs, gives additional purpose to your cellar of wine.  It also gives purpose to your buying and ongoing collecting as you build up your bank of experience and learn more about what you like. 

This can be as formal as the Commanderie de Bordeaux, complete with medals and oaths of allegiance, or as casual as a book club, whose real reason for meeting is to sink a few bottles.  The point is in the community: sharing tips about new regions or up-and-coming growers, discussing recent offers from your favoured merchants, comparing and learning about vintages, or even sharing case purchases between friends. 

Of course, finding tasting groups may not always be easy or entirely practical.  I actually live in a tiny village in a rural corner of England.  Most of my wine friends are a long way from local.  I can hardly attend a weekly tasting and even my monthly group requires quite a bit of driving (and even more spitting) or expensive taxis. 

There is no shortage of online wine discussion groups and lively social media communities that welcome new members.  You could even – although it pains me to write it – buy a Coravin.  This is a device to allow you to pour glasses from unopened bottles, via a needle through the cork, and then inject inert gas to preserve the remaining wine.  It always seems a singularly sterile way to drink fine wine but, if you want to taste a few things without committing to finishing multiple bottles, it is a good way to go and it can certainly facilitate long distance tasting groups. 

 There you have it: 1,200+ words on how to build a wine collection and not one piece of advice on what to buy. 

• Finding quality advice, guidance and access to stock. 

• Building your own experience, knowledge and confidence in the wines you enjoy. 

• Maintaining and sharing enthusiasm. 

These seemed to be the key building blocks when I tried to break down the question of how to start a wine collection. 

At work, when we offer something hot and it sells out before my customer has had a chance to order, I always reassure them that there is no shortage of wine to buy and something else will crop up very soon.  When you come to build a wine collection, there will be no shortage of (excellent) opportunities to choose from.  I will write something about some of my experiences and learnings from my own buying.  For now, I think having some intention around how and why you buy might be that little bit more useful for new collectors than a list of specifics around what to put in the cellar.