Once you have caught the wine appreciation bug the next logical step is to begin the compilation of a wine collection. But where do you start?
Wine clubs, either postal wine clubs or on line wine clubs, provide a cost-effective starting point and can supply you with a wide variety of wines that cover most tastes and styles. Most wine clubs can supply a good selection on a fairly tight budget, so you don't have to be a millionaire or a lottery winner. Indeed for those on a tighter budget there are wine of the month clubs that keep their prices to the minimum and the on-line wine clubs are particularly suited to this end.
Here is a basic purchase from a wine club of three cases (that is thirty-six bottles) to kick off a basic cellar.
Case One: make sure you have everyday, easy-going whites and rosés, such as Sauvignon de Touraine, Vin de Pays d'Oc Chardonnay or Spanish Rosado, plus some special bottles of white for fine dining, such as New Zealand Sauvignon, good German Riesling and white Burgundy.
Case Two: this is the reds and it is suggested that you mix those for everyday drinking such as the inexpensive Côtes-du -Rhônes reds or Australian Cabernet/Shiraz blended reds. Top up the case with a few bottles for special occasions such as a good Pinot Noir, a red Bordeaux and maybe a Rioja.
Case Three: a case of those wines that are hard to categorise or are oddities such as bottles of Cava for those impromptu casual parties, a good Champagne, some pink fizz, port, and if you like it dessert wines and a dry sherry for general entertaining.
Make sure to drink up the cheap and cheerful wines quickly as the others will keep longer. Make and keep tasting notes so you know what to buy again from the wine club, and as time goes on you can build up your collection based on the styles you like most. There are wine clubs that specialise in the produce of certain regions such as the California wine club or Wine Club Australia . But beware of some of the claims made by discount wine clubs especially those numerous on-line wine clubs.
How do you store this wine collection?
Most people do not have the luxury of owning a house with a dedicated cellar and think as a result that it is hard to keep wine. Being a member of a monthly wine club will allow your purchases to match your consumption. It is important that if you plan to hold on to special bottles, they must be kept in the right conditions as they might start to taste flat and dull. Basically you must pick a place that's reasonably cool and dark and where the wine wont be susceptible to getting knocked about. Wine reacts badly to fluctuations in temperature, so never keep it near a radiator or the oven. The attic is usually too warm and the garage too cold, so the best compromise is a dark, cool place like a cupboard or an old wardrobe or blanket box, or a shady unheated downstairs cloakroom. The bottles must be stored on their side so the cork stays in contact with the wine (if it does not the cork will dry out and let air in, thus affecting the flavours), and they must not be disturbed too much. Remember, cheap and cheerful wines need drinking up soon after purchase and that only fine wines should kept for more than a few weeks. So by joining a wine club or a wine tasting club such as the wine tasting club of Savannah Georgia you can soon build up an impressive wine collection.
