It's times like this that one must enjoy respite form the rigors of the day in day out of life and enjoy the fruits of one's labor thus, enjoy what you have stored up, you can't take it with you, better yet, why not share?
Years ago i wrote a beginning workshop on wine appreciation and titled it Bottles in Dark places.
Dark places because wine is a living thing. It needs to be protected from heat, light, vibration and allowed to continue its journey of development in bottle for your utmost enjoyment.
First of all, what does it mean to be a wine collector? It has nothing to do with the number of bottles or the cost of the cellar, cooler or wherever one stores wine. Some collectors can boast thousands of bottles housed in custom designed cellars, tracked by computer software, opened by butlers or ones own personal sommelier.
But even they started small, everyone does!
You become a collector the day you buy a wine to drink some time in the future. It may be to celebrate something special with a discovery from a restaurant wine list or a fellow oenophile.
But when you decide to wait for the special occasion to uncork it, you no longer are simply buying wine, you have started to build your collection.
Once you have laid a bottle down to drink in the future, you have a need to protect it if you are to enjoy it with the same gusto as the first time you experienced it. A wines quality depends directly on its storage conditions no matter how extraordinary it may be when you buy it. If it gets too hot, or is exposed to light, vibration, or an extremely dry storage area, it will deteriorate. I have seen things in homes that would make any 'wine-know" cringe. Bottles of George de la Tour Cabernet Sauvignon hung on display racks on the wall of a second floor condominium, a rack of wines sitting in a front living room window! I mean, if you want to make some interesting expensive vinegar, ..o.k.(?)
If you plan on aging it or storing it for maximum future enjoyment one has to create a protective environment. Whether it be a manufactured wine cooler storage unit, a do it yourself closet conversion like I started with or a cellar designed by an expert contractor. The novice collector is now faced with the next step, filling it up, That can be the fun part. If you think that is too expensive or hard to do, think again!
Your cellar (collection) is the embodiment of your tastes As you explore new wines and buy a few bottles as you go you will notice your development as one who appreciates wine. Not in some impersonal way but in the joy of sharing your precious finds with family and friends.
And then one day, you will realize what is is to go from wine lover to wine collector
, starting with a few bottles in dark places.
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