How to Buy a Wine

Drink No Wine before Its Time

Budding oenophiles can start a modest cellar for $1,500. Here's how

Wine collecting is not an inexpensive hobby, but it doesn't require a huge upfront investment either. A beginner can start a wine collection simply by placing a case of wine on its side in a cool place. As yours tastes become more refined, you can build a wine cellar and stock it with a wider selection.

Temperature is perhaps the most important element in maintaining wine at home. Experts advise keeping the wine in the coolest, driest part of your house. If that happens to be in your basement, stay clear of furnaces and damp areas along outer walls. High humidity will cause corks to mold and damage the wine. If a basement is not an option, try a cool closet or a dry corner of the garage. The ideal temperature range is between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Every effort should be made to keep the temperature constant, although storing wine at 70 degrees or so for not more than a few weeks shouldn't harm it. The wine will simply mature faster.

To store your wine collection, place wine bottles on their sides in racks or bins. Simple metal or wood wine racks can be found for less than $70 in the International Wine Accessories or the Wine Enthusiast Catalogs. Most wines, even the very best, reach their peak within 15 years.

When it comes to stocking your wine cellar, start with one bottle each of a variety of brands to find your favorites. A good red wine will have a balance of fruit, alcohol, acid, and tannin, which is produced by grape skins during fermentation. Some white wines have a crisp flavor with a touch of acidity. Others are highly aromatic. For descriptions of individual wines, try the Ultimate Guides to Buying Wine, a monthly or bimonthly newsletters, the Wine Advocate's Vintage guides, wine and vintage charts, which should be regarded as a very general, over-all ratings of a particular viticultural region. Such charts and other sources are filled with exceptions to the rule – astonishingly good wines from skillful or lucky vintners in years rated mediocre, and thin, diluted, characterless wines from incompetent or greedy producers in great years.

Experts advise buying three bottles of each and drinking the whites and the first group of reds within a year or two. Photo by Elena.