W hile most wine drinkers keep only a few bottles of wine (if any) at home, there comes a time when you may want to have the luxury of picking and choosing from your own private wine cellar rather than have to go rushing off to the nearest wine shop whenever guests are over for dinner.
Apart from convenience, there is also the cachet of displaying your own collection, talking about the wines, and choosing the appropriate wine(s) for the evening.
First off, you’ve got to be clear that you are going in for a wine collection not as an investment but for personal enjoyment — if you want to invest in wine, don’t bother trying this in India but go overseas (London or Hong Kong) to a good wine merchant (Berry Bros & Rudd, Bibendum, Corney & Barrow, Justerini & Brooks are all in London).
When starting the wine collection, you will want to decide
- What and how many wines to collect
- How and where to store them
- The amount to spend on the whole exercise
Most wines are meant to be drunk young, and as such are not really worth collecting. Wines that age well will have a provenance (proven track record of how many years after production they peak in quality), and tend to be acidic and tannic when very young — but mature into terrific wines when mature.
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French Bordeaux (particularly the Grand Cru wines of the Medoc and Pomerol) are always good choices, as are the great wines of Italy (Barolos, Super Tuscans, and Brunello di Montalcino), but choices narrow down further afield: from Spain you might pick up some of the Priorat or Gran Reserva Riojas, from Australia Penfolds Grange or a few premium Shiraz, and from the US some cult (and premium) Cabernet Sauvignons like Shafer, Shea, or Beringer. Among Indian wines the only ones that might fit the bill are the Sula Rasa Reserve Shiraz and the Big Banyan ‘Limited’ Shiraz 2008.
Try to have at least three bottles of each wine on hand as you don’t want not to be able to have a second bottle if you find the first good. Of course, if you are going in for case-lots, you should either research the wine thoroughly or sample a bottle before buying.
How & where to store wine?
It’s tempting to continue storing your wines in that cabinet, but if you will be holding wines for anything more than a few months, it’s always better to go in for a wine chiller.
Wine chillers are now quite widely available — Celfrost has units ranging in capacity from 16 to 185 bottles, while Haier Chillers range from 20 to 50 bottles. A 42-bottle Celfrost chiller would be about Rs 36,000, while the largest will set you back by Rs 90,000. Imported units are harder to come by, but if you have a good source, check out http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/ultimate-refrigerator-buying-guide/sidebars/2
Of course, if and when your collection grows you will want to think about investing in a temperature-controlled wine cellar — serious stuff this, not for those with limited budgets or weak hearts, and well beyond the scope of this article.
What a wine collection will cost
This depends entirely upon what wines you buy, the total number of wines in your collection, and how they are stored. Decent-quality wines should cost Rs 2,000-2,500 per bottle, but sky’s the limit on top-end wines (if you can get hold of them in India).
Lastly, of course, is the question of where to get good wines in India? Many importers or wine companies have now started private sales; so get hold of some names from you local retail wine shop and get started.
Wines I’ve been drinking: The Vindiva Sauvignon Blanc 2011 from Alpine Wineries Karnataka is delightful: a lovely fragrant aroma of ripe guava and raisins, with a well-balanced yet crisp taste where the fruit comes through to a very good finish. A good buy at Rs 685 per bottle in Bangalore.
Alok Chandra is a Bangalore-based wine consultant