Offsite storage strategy

[Gizzyeq]

Hey all

I was reading the old optimum bottles to have thread and well I hope
someday to build my own cellar and have as many as you guys but that got
me thinking about storage...

As a still new to the wine world in general(only been a year but found my
L-o-P early) I recently picked up a Eurocave 283 thinking 180-220 bottle
storage should be more than enough for me
well...hehe I guess as I learn more about wine and since I now have
"space" I found myself binge buying a lot of wine but mostly port.
Looking at cellartracker 70% of my "cellar" which is at 166 bottles is
now vintage port. The breakdown is 60's-3.5%, 70's-25%, 80's-20.5%, 90's
-25%, 2k's-26% made up of the usual suspects in the "top tiers" available
in the USA category.

For those that were or are in my position...how did/do you choose what to
send out to your offsite storage area for the first time?(not the locker
type where you can visit your wine and play with em
What kinda port storage strategy would you guys recommend for a
newb?...who btw havent tasted most of the port I have since I've been
too busy trying to build this little collection and the fact that the
older ones are too precious(pricey) to just pop open and the young ones
need more time...I've been getting my port fix from mostly Reserva's and
some LBV's and some tawny's

My buying plan is to keep getting more older vintages 1-3 at a time and
2-4 at a time for more moderate age vintages and hopefully wait for the
00's,03's and future vintages prices come down(I wonder if 06 will be
declared)

So knowing all that..anyone have any suggestions?

[Andy Velebil]

Akira,

Since Southern California houses don't have basements and my house is not big enough to put a very large wine refrigerator in it, I keep almost all of my stuff at an off-site. Although I have access to my off-site storage whenever I want (well at least during normal business hours ) I use the following method for determining what stays at the house in a small 52 bottle cooler and what goes to off-site.

#1: Stuff that I plan to drink in the next 6-12 months goes into the home bottle cooler. I also have an inside closet that stays about 60-65 degrees in summer (and about 50 degrees in winter) which I leave a few overflow bottles of cheap stuff like basic tawnys/ruby's. I generally keep a few older VP's in the home cooler in case I need to quickly grab one for spur of the moment drinking needs.

#2: When i buy newer vintages (2000's 2003's, etc) that I've never tried before I always try and get an extra bottle to open within a few months of purchase so I can try it, see how it is, and make my own notes about it. Now, this doesn't always work, as my scatter brain sometimes forgets (see thread about 1997 Delaforce). In that case the young VP goes to the Off-site and one bottle stays in the cooler so I can easily try it. This works great at keeping me away from my young bottles in the off-site while allowing me to full-fill my need to try my latest purchase :twisted:

I hope this helps you out a little.

[Derek T.]

Akira,

My storage history is very similar to your own. I started out with a centrally located cupboard in the house to minimise temperature variation. I then bought a 66 bottle wine cooler thinking - that will do me for my long term VP's plus a few bottles of good quality dry red. 3 months later I bought another one :?

I now have most f my wine in a storage facility. My selection process was based on 3 criteria:

1. Young VP (less than 15 years) in quantities of 6 or 12

2. "Classic" VP of any age in qualntities of 6 or 12

3. 6 bottles from cases of 12 that I have bought for "immediate" drinking

Option 3 makes up most of my offsite collection. The reason for this is that I tend not to buy a case and drink my way through it. I like to vary what I am drinking and any case of 12 bottles will last me many years. Sticking 6 away in long term storage removes temptation, makes you drink the other 6 slower and ensures you can experience the wine develop over time.

Derek