Are you planning to start a wine collection?If so, you must learn the basics for starting one, like having a reliable wine cellar built to store your wines in. Here are a few tips for starting a wine collection in Orange County, California.

Wine Collection Tips for Starters

Wine Collecting 101

How to Start a Wine Collection

Wine collecting is a fun hobby, but without the right knowledge, you could simply be throwing money away. You can’t go out and buy a bottle of wine and then keep it just anywhere. To be a proper wine collector, you need to do it the smart way. Here are a few basic tips for beginner wine collectors:

1. How Much Are You Willing to Spend?

Wines(good ones, anyway)do not come cheap. If you want to start a wine collection, you need to decide how much you intend to spend on this hobby. A good starting place is about $1000. Of course, you do not need to spend it all at once. Purchase one bottle at a time. There are plenty of good wines on the market that cost around $25 to $30each.

2. What Wines to Buy?

The truth is, there is no rule on what types of wines should be included in your wine collection. Collecting wine is about enjoying wine. Therefore, you need only consider which wines you want to drink. Ideally, a wine collection should be varied; but to start,stock up on the wines that you enjoy the most.

How do you know which wines you will like? Before you start purchasing wines, you need to taste them, to see which ones you like. Avoid purchasing a bottle of wine based merely on the scores or tasting notes, because these are based on someone else’s palate, and not yours. If you live in a region with wine tasting rooms, make an appointment with a winemaker. You can also go to public barrel tastings, to check their wines. Another option is to visit local wine stores. Generally they offer tastings, so that you can sample the wines that they have.

A good tip to keep in mind is, should you find a winery that you really love, try joining its wine club or mailing list. Do this with caution, though, because unless you are totally committed and want lots of vintages, you can sometimes get stuck with clinkers. Winery clubs and mailing lists come in handy when you’re looking for discounts and great deals. Before wines are bottled, wineries offer discounted “futures.” These are upcoming vintages that are sold at 10 to 20 percent below their final bottle cost. If you want to take a chance on a vintage despite not knowing its true bottled character, this can be a good deal.

Other sources of wines on discounted rates and deals include local wine auctions, and the internet. The problem with this is that you can’t always be sure of how the wine you ordered was handled. If you buy online, it is very easy to get ripped off. The best option is to buy wines directly from the winemaker. You can also get good deals by buying wines by case, or by taking advantage of sales and end-of-vintage deals.

3. Expand Your Understanding of Your Wines

Gather multiple vintages of a single wine to see how it develops over time, through different winemakers and growing conditions. Obtaining more knowledge about wines can make you geeky. You might annoy your friends with your detailed knowledge of a single wine, but if you are going to be a genuine wine collector, you will want to understand wine better, and not just collect it.

Never stop learning about wine. Keep in mind that the fun in wine collection is not only in the purchase, but also everything that leads up to it. Go and research, read reviews and books, taste, talk, and ask questions. If you know more about a certain wine, the moment you pour it on to a glass, you will be able to enjoy it specially, because you put the time and effort in finding it and learning about it.

4. Where to Store the Wines?

A reliable wine storage solution should never be taken for granted. Wines can only truly be enjoyed if they are kept at the best quality,and this is only possible with the ideal storage conditions that are provided by a wine cellar. If you want to get into the hobby of wine collecting, you must be willing to invest on a good wine cellar. Have a residential wine cellar built, so that you can be ensure that your wines are safe and aging properly.

Wine Cellar CA

Wine Storage Solutions in California

Coastal Custom Wine Cellars is one of the most trusted wine cellar designers and builders in Orange County, California. They are known for building reliable wine storage solutions with beautiful designs. All of their products are made from quality materials. If you’d like Coastal to design your wine storage room for you, they are willing to provide a free consultation service, with free 3D drawings of your dream residential custom wine cellar. For more information about Coastal Custom Wine Cellars, or their products and services, contact them today at (888) 735-8889!

Also, besides having the wine storage room built, you need to purchase an efficient wine cellar cooling unit. It is the cooling unit that is responsible for producing cool air in order to keep the environment inside the wine cellar suitable for wine storage. Have an HVAC professional determine the appropriate wine cellar refrigeration system for your custom wine cellar.

Coastal Custom Wine Cellars has teamed up with the best in the wine storage industry to provide effective wine storage solutions. One of their partners is US Cellar Systems, a leading wine cellar refrigeration system manufacturer in Orange County, California. They offer various types of wine cellar cooling systems that can meet any wine storage needs. Besides installation services, US Cellar Systems also provides maintenance and troubleshooting services for wine cellar cooling units. For more information about US Cellar Systems, or their products and services, call them at (562) 513-3017!