1. Rule Do not forget which wines age well. In order to grow up well and beautifully, wines need two things - potential (it is useless to expect that bad wine will get better over the years) and acidity (it “holds” the structure of the wine). It makes no sense to invest in acquisitions for a collection of wines whose purpose is to be drunk young.
2. Rule Take care of the place where your wine will “live”. It is better to collect wine so that both the existing bottles and thoughts about new ones are spacious. Many novice collectors are convinced that the space reserved for the collection is filled up within a few months - especially if you follow another common rule and don’t buy one bottle each (it’s better to take at least half a box). Another consideration about space is temperature. If it’s not a real cellar, then you definitely need a wine cabinet for the collection.
3. Rule Set up a special corner for the wines you are ready to part with easily. Many collectors who despise this rule are missing bottles dear to their hearts and purses. Households refuse to honestly admit their deeds and often sincerely do not see the corpus delicti. “I just took one of your bottles - you still have a whole cellar,” said the wife of one of the clients, demanding an explanation for the disappeared Hermitage bottle. The victim was taught bitter experience and now not only puts everything that is not so pitiful on a special shelf, but he also observes the already quoted rule about buying not one bottle at a time in case of unexpectedness.
4. Rule Do not try to buy vintage vintages of famous wines. It’s better not to do this without preparation and experienced people: investing in expensive wines is best done with the help of specialists. Investing in wine is a completely separate game in which a beginner can never win.
5. Rule Buy what is pleasant and interesting. Starting a wine collection, many are obsessed with red wines, although in ordinary life they like to drink white; get stuck on Bordeaux, although they prefer the New World. Your collection is going - I hope! - Not for shooting in a glossy magazine, and should fulfill the main task - to bring pleasure. As Nancy Sinatra sang, These boots are made for walking - and those who find this approach wasteful can always start collecting fossils and pricking butterflies on pins.