Once a wine collector has acquired enough bottles and the requisite accessories, the true magic begins: enjoyment.
The sensory experience of wine – the smell, the taste and the feel of the glass in your hand – is the most obvious source of pleasure. But I would argue not the most important. If that were the case, then we’d all gladly drink laboratory wine – technically perfect, but lacking soul. Instead, the transcendent aspect of wine lies in its story, whether it be the story of the people and place that produced it, or the story of how and why it came to be in your possession.
A Repository of Experiences
When you stand in your cellar, you are standing among your life’s experiences. On one wall rests Pichon Comtesse – the first fine wine you were able to afford out of university. On the other, the Pol Roger Winston Churchill – the wine you ordered after getting engaged. And tucked in the corner is Poggio Scalette’s Il Carbonaione – that tiny, family-run Tuscan producer you discovered when you toured Italy. Whether shared among friends or savoured in solitude, wine has a unique ability to bring experiences to life and unite people across time and space. As you explore your collection, you're not just tasting wine; you're forging bonds and creating memories that will endure a lifetime.
A Gateway to Cultures
Even if all of your wines were purchased at the local wine shop and have no such personal stories attached, each bottle contains its own story about the people, the culture, the history, and the traditions it represents. The reason Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is so sought after is not because the wine itself is orders of magnitude better than every other Burgundy. It is because it is unique. There is no other DRC. There is no other Aubert de Villaine, the famed vigneron. There is no other hill of La Tâche. This wine has a sense of depth to it – a sense of wisdom about the world, as this terroir has seen the last millennium of history unfold. Even if you could recreate the exact flavour profile of La Tâche in the lab, it wouldn’t be the same because it would be missing all these things.
The Importance of Learning
The key to maximizing the pleasure you derive from your wine collection is very simple: learn about it.
Familiarizing yourself with wine is absolutely vital, not so that you can perform a blind tasting party trick and correctly discern the Bordeaux hiding among the Barolos, but so that you can unlock the magic of the story behind each label. You would not derive the same thrill from that bottle of DRC if you’d never heard of the estate, just as you wouldn’t appreciate an old Port if you didn’t know its traditionalist producer still insisted on foot treading the grapes. Knowledge fosters appreciation. There is so much craftsmanship that goes into each bottle of fine wine. I like to remind people that each bottle is a winemaker’s entire year’s worth of work, and they only get about 20-30 chances to get it right if they are lucky to have a long career.
The best way to learn about wine is to drink it. It goes without saying, don’t swill it back while distracted at a rambunctious dinner party. Pay attention to it. Open special bottles when you only have to share them with one other person. Look up the producers and the regions if you’re unfamiliar with them. And then take the time to savour them.
In addition to ongoing ‘research’, as I like to call my nightly glass, reading books and taking a wine course are both fantastic supplements. The Académie du Vin Library offers a wonderful repertoire of engaging reads from top authors. And if you’re lucky to live in a place where it’s available, the Académie du Vin’s courses guide enthusiasts through wine appreciation without excessive technical dicta. For those looking to move into a wine career, there are many providers offering courses through the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), Court of Master Sommeliers, (CMS), or a number of other accredited organizations. Most local wine shops also host regular tastings, so these are another great way to sample a range of wines and meet fellow aficionados.
In a world obsessed with instant gratification, wine collecting offers a welcome respite—a reminder to slow down, savour the moment, and appreciate the ride. So let us raise our glasses, not just in celebration of the wine, but in gratitude for the journey it represents and the memories it helps us create. Cheers!
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH INVINTORY
InVintory is a mobile & web app that helps wine collectors easily track and find their bottles. This blog is the fourth in a series by COO Yule Georgieva on how to build and manage a wine collection.
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