With plenty of local vineyards around and some of the best wineries and tasting rooms, it wouldn’t be a surprise if you wanted to start your own wine collection in San Diego as well. If you’re interested, we’ve listed some tips for research, sources for information, and wine storage units that are available locally in San Diego.
Want to get started on your own wine collection?
You don’t need a ton of money, but there are a few steps you should go through first in order to get off on the right foot.
How to Build Your Own Wine Collection
Research
Your research can run from basic to advanced, with a bit of reconnaissance involved. With all of the local wineries and vineyards in San Diego, you can do your homework online.
- Basic research involves point scores, credit ratings, vintage reports, tech sheets, tasting notes, retail price, and vineyard location.
- Intermediate research involves creating a winemaker’s profile, looking into the history of a winery and the region’s wine, aging and importation, and a look into other wine producers and when the vines were planted.
- Advanced research involves in-depth work such as branding, distribution, exportation, and wine-making ideology.
Develop a Palate
This will provide the answer as to what wines to collect. If you’re interested in a particular bottle or brand, try it out and drink it over a period of time. According to experts, this will teach you more about the wine you want to collect. If you intend to collect a huge variety, then develop your palate for each variety. Check out this article we wrote on wine tasting tips.
Find a Trustworthy Source
San Diego has no shortage of wineries and wine producers. Local shops happen to be one of the best sources for good wine. Now all you need to do is to find a source or two that can supply you with the amount of wine you need and with a consistent quality.
Have Proper Wine Storage
Your wine collection will go to waste without proper storage.
It is important that you have the right system in place when it comes to wine preservation. Chateau 55 strives to provide our clients the best wine storage units San Diego has to offer.
Climate-control, security, and lighting within our San Diego wine cellar are consistently monitored so that your wine collection can age as it should.
Understand the Cellaring Period
The lifecycle of wine will depend on the alcohol content’s volatile nature.
It is important that you know the prime drinking window of your wine collection so you can drink, sell, or trade them at the right time.
- Chardonnay-based wines have a cellar rotation of about a decade or so years.
- Nebbiolo wine has a life cycle of around two decades or more.
- Vintage Madeira and Port require at least 100 years of cellaring.
Do a Periodic Reassessment
Your taste can change over time, so it is smart to periodically reassess your wine collection. Doing so not only helps you consider or reconsider your former choices but also confirm the current state of a wine’s quality.
Take advantage of the Coravin, a tool that lets you test a wine without opening a full bottle.
Start your own wine collection following the tips listed above. For more information on wine storage units San Diego, contact Chateau 55 today!