Oct 07 2008
Finding a Vintage You Really Like
This is the 11th installment find the 1st one here
It was truly amazing! We actually found a vintage of cabernet that we really liked from a California winery. My wife even said, “Why don’t you go get several bottles just to have on hand?” Wow! That was so out of character for her that I could hardly believe it! I dutifully trekked off to the grocery store to buy a case of wine. I went directly to the section and shelf where I’d bought that “really great wine” last week and it was GONE! What the heck?
I cornered a stocking guy who was pulling new bottles out of a case of wine and setting them on the shelves further down the isle. I asked him if he had any more of the vintage I was looking for in the back room. He smiled and said, “Nope, that’s it! The new vintage should be here in a week or two.” Oh, God! Would it be as good? Would it cost the same? Maybe I could still find it in other stores! I panicked!
I set off on a search and seize mission to the local liquor stores, grocery and convenience stores. After 5-6 hours of driving and searching, I found 8-9 bottles at 5 different locations, with great relief. Now the storage of this collection was going to be a new problem in our small condo. Where do you “stuff” all those bottles? I’d learned enough about wine storage to know not to put it near a heat source like the top of the refrigerator or in the back of a shelf of a warm cupboard. We certainly did not have the room for a small wine refrigerator so a small rack that we were currently using was going to have to do, but it would not all fit.
My wife came up with a brilliant idea that turned to be an ingenious solution that we still use today. She had an extra sweater storage box on wheels that held 20 bottles side by side and will roll with ease on the cool tile floor under the bed in the master bedroom. What a find!
In about 4-6 weeks, reality hit hard. I’d tried and enjoyed several new wines and drank them in between the ones that I had stashed under the bed. I found that we actually liked several of the new ones better than our hoard of that one vintage in the “rolling wine cellar”. Was buying all that wine the smart thing to do? It was good wine at the time!
Lesson: When you find a wine that you really enjoy, buy a few bottles. Don’t hoard cheap wine if you can’t drink it in a short period of time especially when stored without a bit of cooling available. There will always be another favorite “better wine” to find!
Jim Albinger (Andrew’s dad) grew up in smalltown northwest Iowa in the 1950’s. He has been writing down his experiences looking back at all that has shaped his current wine tasting hobby. Expect to see more of Jim’s writings here at offthecork.com.
