There are too many wine cellars around
the world where huge investments have been made in storing large
quantities of expensive wine in the correct conditions and in racking
of great beauty but which is not recorded. A poor wine inventory
will lead to a waste of wine as much as poor storage conditions.
The squandering of wine opened before its optimum or after its best
is a transgression to which no wines should be subjected.
Indexing your wines is vital.
- Establish a system to manage the wine in your cellar. There
are a plethora of good systems available, however we recommend
you choose a product which is compatible with Vinoté tags,
for reasons displayed below.
- Apply Vinoté Tags so every bottle is traceable. The
unique number on each wine bottle neck tag allows every bottle
to be found
with ease and every bottle removed with accuracy.
- Record every bottle going in and out. It is essential that
your inventory is maintained accurately, however there is
a dichotomy
between drinking wine and maintaining an accurate database.
With the Vinoté tag, you do not have to record wine as you are
opening it – you simply store the tag and relax knowing
that any time in the future you will soberly bring your database
up to
date.
- Keep track of the best time to drink each bottle. Most
wines are produced to be drunk at an early age, others
will benefit from
many years storage. Maintaining a database of peak drinking
dates ensures that you will open all your wines at their
optimum. More
importantly you will no longer come across wines spoiled
by over aging, nor will you inadvertently prematurely
open a
good keeper
before its time.
Some other hints
- Plan for proper storage. If you are planning
to use your cellar for aging your wine, ensure that your cellar
is going to store the wine under the appropriate conditions. Wine
stored inappropriately will age quicker and may well disappoint
you.
-
Plan to store your wines at home. If this is not possible - make
sure that you can keep those wines, that are ready to drink, at
home and store the rest in appropriate storage elsewhere. Using
the Vinoté system will make finding these wines easy.
-
Sell when conditions are right. Our tastes change with time. If
your cellar is carrying too many wines, that you have grown out
of or are about to over-age, sell them now. This leaves you with
wines you know you can enjoy and funds to stock up on wines to
suit your taste. If the market has a higher perception of a wine
than you do, why not sell it and replace it with something of
better value in your view.
-
Don't automatically buy by the case. Often six bottles is enough
to follow a wine over a period of years to monitor its development
and that leaves room for 6 bottles of another wine. Alternatively
buy a case and be prepared to sell some if you have made the wrong
choice.
-
Taste the wines you are going to cellar. Beware of storing wines
for many years on the advice of others. Your tastes may differ.
-
Build up your wine collection slowly. Your taste will change with
time. What a shame to finish up with a cellar full of wine, which
you no longer enjoy.
-
Keep a balance in your cellar. Maintain space for wines ready
for drinking, wines to be stored for a short time and for aging
wines. They all deserve storage, inventory and selection. They
each will be opened for an appropriate occasion or meal providing
the range is in your cellar and available to you.
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