Wine sales have been steadily growing for the past few years, and are expected to continue to grow around two to four percent in 2019 (source: Bloomberg). With more people drinking wine than ever before, there is also and increasing interest in becoming a wine collector. While it may seem like a simple and fun hobby, there are actually a lot of important things to know before jumping into wine collecting. By learning the basic facts and best practices first, you can then begin to collect and properly store your wine.
Start with these general tips when you start your collection:
- Buy what interests you. The higher the price tag doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best or right bottle for you. There are a lot of factors to consider like the age of the wine, the vintage, the vineyard, reviewers’ comments and who might have owned the bottle in the past.
- Start small, and build your collection. Remember, it takes time to build up a collection. Think about what kinds of bottles will add monetary value and what kinds of wine are personally valuable to you. Do you prefer wine from a specific region or country, or would you rather collect bottles based the stories behind them? It’s all preference.
- Wine bottles can come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Don’t let unique bottles turn you off because you’re not sure how or where to store them; they can add something different to your collection. There are many different accommodating storage options for wide, tall and champagne bottle styles. There’re several bottle closure bottle options. Natural corks, synthetic corks and screw caps all have different effects on wine.
- Documenting your collection is important. You should not only save records of your initial purchase so you have proof of value, but also organize your wines properly and create a catalog. The bigger your collection gets, the more you’ll appreciate having an organized reference guide of inventory for easy access.
- Proper storage. Wine is sensitive to a number of factors, including temperature and humidity, light and vibration. If not stored properly, these conditions can cause wine to spoil. The ideal temperature for wine storage is 55-57 F, with humidity between 55-85%. To ensure that your wine remains at the proper conditions, consider storing your collection at an off-site wine cellar.
To Wine, or Wine Not?
Collecting wine can be an exciting hobby, with many different personal purchase factors. Whether you find excitement in owning a piece of history, or prefer to have bottles from around the world to enjoy at your leisure, a wine collection is something that evolves over time, and is an investment worth preserving properly.
