Why you should buy wine like a collector

We frequently hear two things from even our best customers about buying wine from a wine shop; first, it takes an extra stop, and second that wine from a wine shop is more expensive than from a grocery store. The first one is absolutely true, we are an extra stop. The second though is absolutely false. We regularly keep wine on the shelf from $8 and up, most times it is better quality and more unique than what you find at your typical supermarket.

This is the reason that regardless of your budget constraints, it really is in your best interest to buy wine like a collector. By buying wine in this manner you will avoid standing in a grocery aisle on a Wednesday contemplating the benefit of a wine that ends in "tail" over one that ends in "eye!"

We understand that for many of us that don't drink wine every day it is often an impulse buy; we are headed home after a long day and we feel like having wine with our dinner so while we shop for our menu items for the evening we start to look at the wine selection in our market of choice and reality sets in that it is the same old narrow selection of wine, with an even more narrow span of quality. The solution is easy and it need not involve installing a wine cellar or even a cooler, and it does not involve a big dollar budget to invest in wine.

To avoid the limited choices of an impulse buy first identify which varietals you like to drink on the most regular basis. Also try to gage how often you drink wine. For many of us it is every day, but for each wine consumer it could be different but if you drink wine 3 nights a week you can figure that you will go through about 12 bottles at the outside in a month. Divide that between whites, pinks and reds and you start to come up with an allocation, then further divide the general "color" categories into varietals. Finally, calculate what you would normally spend on your typical impulse buy in an entire month.

Here is where it actually gets easy! Call a wine shop like ours or your favorite one and talk to your wine professional about what you have to spend, and how you would like to divide it up between varietal categories, colors and producers. What most will do including us, is to get the bottles all ready for you so you can just swing by and pick them up. In the case of the dinner party we will even deliver them for free which takes care of the extra stop issue altogether.

This is the way collectors buy their wine, they find something they like and buy it in sufficient quantity to satisfy their demand for a long period. By using the same tactic on a smaller scale you will always have something you really enjoy drinking instead of something that merely fills the void.

Storage too is easily solved without an additional investment. If you have a basement in your home this is the best solution. Store the bottles in the basement away from heat sources like the furnace or hot water heater, somewhere away from regular traffic so they are not in the way. Avoid putting them in wine case boxes which frequently weaken and tip forward causing the wine to spill out of the box and onto the floor. A better solution is to line the bottles up along a wall in a single layer making them easier to identify and access.

If you don't have a basement other good solutions are under the bed in a room that does not get too hot in the summer. A closet with no exposure to an outside wall also works well as they tend to maintain a stable temperature. Finally you should avoid kitchen cabinets that are above the refrigerator or stove as these appliances tend to generate a fair amount of heat. Similarly the garage can be subject to large temperature swings so it should be avoided.

We had a customer just this week come in to pick up multiple bottles of two of our value selections one $9, and the other $10. He said to us "I used to buy wine at the grocery store, and I just don't anymore. At these prices the wine is so much better and I just come by once a week." It is possible for all of us as wine consumers to drink better wine on a regular basis, while still having it be convenient and within our budget, just give us or your favorite wine professional a call and see how easy it can be.

If there is a topic you would like to read about or questions on wine you can email George@thedinnerpartyshop.com or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d'Alene Press.

George Balling is co-owner with his wife Mary Lancaster of the dinner party - a wine and table top decor shop in Coeur d'Alene by Costco. George is also the managing judge of The North Idaho Wine Rodeo and writes frequently for the online version of Coeur d'Alene Magazine at www.cdamagazine.com. You can learn more about the dinner party at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com.