Think Before You Buy

I was talking to a friend recently about some wine he bought. He was quite impressed with his purchase. It was a case of a well-known and pretty darn pricey Napa Valley Cabernet. 

Let's consider what gives this wine its reputation. It's big and bold and quite tannic. That means that it is agewworthy. And, you know what. When you buy that bottle or in this instance, that case, you are paying a lot fo money for that ageworthiness.

So, we got to talking. He said he has no discipline. They would probably all be gone within a month. One month!

This is a 2018 vintage wine. It was just released. It's known for having really dense tannins. Most people would not find it overly approachable today. Yet, he and whomever he shares it with are going to polish off 12 bottles of this gem in the next month.

I attempted to counsel him. It was all to no avail. He says he buys wines to drinkt them right away. Frankly, if that is the case, he should save some money. Much of what you are paying for in this wine is the simple fact that you don't need to drink it right away.

There's a lesson here. And, when you go into your favorite wine shop, the staff should be able to help you. When you buy a bottle or a few or a case or a few, if you ask the staff for help, they should ask you the right questions. And, particularly with good red wines, one of those questions should focus on when you plan to drink it. If the answer is as soon as you can get your grubby little hands on it, then they should steer you away from wines of this style. 

Suppose your wine shop of choice doesn't have good staff that ask you the right questions, what should you do? Have the answers ready so that you don't have to rely on them asking the questions.

  • I plan to drink this wine tonight with fried chicken. Cava or Prosecco.
  • I plan to drink this wine next week with trout. A young Sauvignon Blanc or Chenin Blanc.
  • I really like rack of lamb and I'd like to have a selection of wine on hand to go with that lamb over the next 5-10 years. Chateauneuf du Pape or perhaps Australian Shiraz.
  • I want to serve a wine to friends next week with my wife's traditional paella and I want to impress the hell out of them, but I have no budget. Kirkland Rioja Reserva.
See how easy that was.


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