You don’t have to be a serious wine drinker with a serious budget to consider amassing a wine cellar. You don’t even need an actual cellar.
“Anyone can build a wine cellar with any budget or with any wine knowledge level,” said Sylvia Ba, sommelier and wine consultant for VinoVoss. With her expertise, Ba guides us through some basic principles when it comes to beginning your own wine cellar on a budget.
Why start a wine collection?
For our purposes, “wine cellar” also means “wine collection,” as this is not an instruction manual for actual subterranean building construction.
If you drink wine regularly, the benefits of beginning a wine collection are numerous, whether your preferences lean more Cupcake or Cakebread. Financially speaking, it can save you money in the long run, with the savings that often come with buying by the case rather than the bottle. It can also be an investment, if you do pursue buying higher end wines during their initial release, to save for many years down the road.
Beyond financial implications, though, starting a wine cellar can increase your enjoyment of wine. “It can help to better explore the world of wine, which is very diverse,” Ba said. When you buy with a cellar mindset, rather than just one-off bottles for the occasion or meal at hand, you are more likely to pick up a few things you’re unfamiliar with along with a stash of your tried-and-true favorites. “If you love gastronomy, it’s a very nice experience to pair the right wine with your food,” she said, which is easier done when you have a wider variety of wines on hand. “I also think wine is a very nice social lubricant, so it brings people together and creates memorable moments.”
Where to store your wine collection
The first order of business is ensuring you have a place to keep your wines. “Wine can become spoiled because of poor storage conditions,” Ba said, “so it’s important to have a proper place to put it.” This doesn’t have to be extremely spacious or terribly complicated. If you have a basement, congrats, you basically already have a wine cellar, but even without one, “any dark space with low temperature away from direct sunlight works,” Ba said.
If your living space is relatively small, “you can also buy a wine fridge that can hold probably 36 or so bottles,” Ba said. “It’s enough for a small family or just one person.” Wine fridges of this size don’t have to be extremely expensive, starting at about $200 for a basic model, but even a bookshelf or wine rack kept in a room of your living space that doesn’t experience extreme temperature shifts or direct sunlight will suffice.
Wines that have a natural cork should be stored horizontally in order to keep moisture on the cork. “Because natural corks are made from wood, if you keep those wines standing up, the corks will dry out, which allows oxygen to get into the bottle and accelerates the aging of the wine,” says Ba.
Many wines with synthetic corks, or even screw tops, are still worthy of holding on to and can be stored upright.
What kinds of wines should you collect?
Iconic wines that come from places such as Burgundy, Bordeaux, Barolo and Napa Valley are those that many wine collectors seek, but they frequently come with a hefty price tag. In terms of finding less expensive wines with good storage capabilities, you can start by looking for selections with particular attributes, rather than from particular places.
“Acidity and tannins are the most important factors,” Ba said. “If a wine has a high acidity level, it usually can stay fresh longer, and for red wines, tannins are very important because tannins provide structure. As the wine ages, the tannins soften and also serve as a preservative in the wine.” Wines that are aged in oak also generally have longer storage capacities than those without oak influence.
Many wines fit this bill. High acid white grapes include Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Grϋner Veltliner and Albariño, and some red grapes with high acidity are Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo and Grenache. For wines with high tannins, examples include Cabernet Sauvignon, Tannat, Syrah, Mourvedre, Petit Verdot and Sangiovese.
If you’re not sure about something, wine professionals such as sommeliers and wine retailers are there to help, not to belittle you. “I think average consumers should be more brave about expressing their preferences to get better recommendations,” Ba said. Apps such as Preferabli that use AI technology can help introduce you to new wines based on certain characteristics of wines you already like and buy.
Bargain wines to consider for a collection
You can also take the map into consideration and explore wine regions that aren’t quite so famous as their formidable neighbors. “There are a lot of affordable, good wines you can keep for 10 to 15 years, that range from maybe $30 to $50, from lesser known regions, from small, independent producers, or maybe from very hard to pronounce grape varieties,” Ba said.
Ba lists some of her favorite affordable grapes and regions that fit the bill for keeping around:
- Loire Valley Chenin Blanc (France)
- Mosel Riesling (Germany)
- Grüner Veltliner Smaragd (Austria)
- Taurasi (Italy)
- Chianti Classico Riserva (Italy)
- Etna Rosso and Bianco (Italy)
- Douro Red (Portugal)
- Cahors (France)
- Madiran (France)
- Willamette Valley (US)
- Sonoma (US)
- Finger Lakes (US)
I would also personally add some budget-friendly grapes and regions such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Riesling from Washington State, Tannat and Albariកo from Uruguay and both white and red wine blends from Côtes du Rhône.
As mentioned previously, a wine doesn’t have to have a traditional cork in order to make it worthy of saving. If it’s something you like to drink, many excellent wines have these kinds of closures.
“Some of the top Australian wines are sealed with screw caps,” Ba said. “It doesn’t mean it’s low quality or it’s less good for collecting.” Microoxygenation occurs less with screw caps than with traditional corks, so the wine doesn’t develop in the bottle in quite the same way, but this can be a positive depending on your particular taste and shouldn’t deter you from adding screw cap bottles to your collection.
Where to buy wines for your collection
If you have a great wine store in your neighborhood with a staff that curates an interesting selection and that you trust with recommendations, this is potentially all you need. There are many options, however, if a great wine shop isn’t in your vicinity.
“For fine wine lovers, auctions are a great place to find wine, especially rare bottles,” said Ba. Wine auctioneers include major players such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s, but these often require a generous budget. There are also several smaller auction outlets dedicated to wine where you can find surprisingly affordable bottles, such as WineBid and Spectrum Wine.
Online retailers are also a great option that can carry a much larger selection than local shops. (Wine.com, Astor Wine and Last Bottle are sites I personally visit frequently.) Becoming a member of a winery you love, which has the added benefit of directly supporting winemakers and farmers, or joining a wine subscription program can also ensure bottles are being added to your collection regularly.
Keeping track of your wine collection
Once you have acquired a serious stash of wine and have it stored appropriately, the last step is keeping track of your stock. “There are a lot of applications for that now, because we are in a digital era,” Ba said.
Apps such as VinoVoss can make recommendations for wine purchases as well as keep track of what you buy, and there are numerous others specifically dedicated to tracking your inventory such as CellarTracker, Vinocell and Oeni.
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