The Wine Observer

How to Begin Your Own Wine Collection

A refreshing break from the routine.

By Karl G. Stonecipher, MD

“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” —Luciano Pavarotti

In our busy lives, it can be hard to appreciate the wisdom of the above quote. With so many pressing obligations and so little free time, we can't always give dining for enjoyment our full and robust attention. Appreciation of wine seems especially intimidating. There are people who dissect wine much like a cadaver — “it has great legs with hints of cassis and with an espresso on the nose” — and then there are those of us who drink it and collect it just for the sheer pleasure it brings us.

This article is about learning to enjoy wine and collect it as a way to enrich your life and brighten your day a little, just as Pavarotti recommended.

Make it Personal to You

I remember the first time I went to a winery to actually taste wine in a formal setting. I was in Monterey — at the time, an up-and-coming place for new wines — and I was hoping to discover new territory unlike that of the typical Napa or Sonoma varietals that I had enjoyed for years. I thought, “Wow, this is going to be it. I'm really going to learn something.”

What the lady behind the counter said to me was revolutionary. I had thought she was going to give me a scholarly lecture on winemaking and wine appreciation. Instead, what she said was, “Karl, a really great wine is simple to find: it is one you like.”

That, to me, is the greatest thing about collecting and drinking wine. Despite evidence to the contrary, it is really easy to learn what you need to know about wine. Certainly the profession al sommeliers are in a class by themselves, but even the general public can participate in the experience, especially if you can make it a part of your family rituals and everyday life.

I started drinking wine at a very young age. While that's frowned upon in America, it's totally acceptable in Europe and other parts of the world. Unfortunately, the typical American mindset is that we drink to get inebriated. Well, I would like to change that notion. Obviously, I'm not suggesting you start drinking wine with your two-year-old, but as your children get older you can teach them that wine is an essential part of the meal. You can teach them to drink responsibly and to appreciate the nuances of wine at the same time. I started mine out by asking them what they smelled in the wine. It became a game for us. It was a great way to teach a life lesson and have fun at the same time.

Beginning a Collection

I think the easiest way to start a wine collection is to find a few you like and then select years you think are important, like when you had a child or the year you were married. If you were married in 1982 and it is now 2010, economically speaking that is probably not a good idea. Wine, like stocks, should not be bought at top-dollar prices, especially since the ultimate goal is to drink it. Of course, you can buy and sell wine and make some really lucrative investments, but that is not what I suggest. Wine is an experience. It is a part of the meal. It is your first date. It is a part of a wedding. It is a celebration of a birth. It is a memory in the making.

At holidays, birthdays and other celebrations, I pull out a bottle of wine significant to that year and bring it along. It is a special way to say to an individual such as your child, “Your birth year was so special, I want to celebrate it.” That is how I started; I bought my children's birth years. Lucky for me, they were great years.

To stock your collection, one easy place to start your search is with a free wine tasting. Another option is go to the store and pick a few wines and invite over a few friends. Try several varietals of grapes; don't limit yourself to cabernet or chardonnay. Then decide whether some of what you've sampled may be worth keeping around the house. Eventually, you may want to find a suitable place to store it, but that doesn't mean you have to reconstruct the homestead.

After that, alI you have to do is try one new wine at a time. If you really like it, put down a case and wait for a special moment. OM

Karl G. Stonecipher, MD, who practices in North Carolina, is the Medical Director for TLC Greensboro and Co-Medical Director for TLC Raleigh.