How much do you spend on wine?

If you like the regular Cab, look for one of the three reserves - single vineyard from the best Cab area of Napa - Three Sisters, Vine Hill Ranch and Benchland Select - Among the best Cabs in the world.

Living in the aforementioned Pfalz (thanks Huntsman) I can walk into about any grocery store and drop 3-5 euro and walk away a happy man. It's keeping me from making the inevitable unhappy prioritization between food and clothes as the big drain on my paycheck.

This is a very tough one for me. Because wine is becoming so much better and so much cheaper, I'm able to find great bargains in all the ranges listed. Most often, I'll buy several bottles or a case of good wine at below $10 and give it as gifts, drink with dinner, etc. Occassionally I'll also buy bottles, or even a case of $20 wine if it is exceptional. I also have quite a few very expensive bottles at $75 - $125 each. Buying a case is very infrequent, but I have a case of 1994 Phelps Insignia and just bought a case of 2001 Eglehoff cabernet.

IMO wine should be fun to drink.

I swear by Cosentino's Cigar Zin $22

look at ebay.de "weine" and you'll find brilliant wines at moderate prices including shipping to the us (check out customs first)

Anyone like ZD Wines? I have a nice cab from them that seems to be quite tasty.

I've been drinking a lot of Columbia Crest (mass produced, but...). For $11 a bottle, the Cabernet and the Chardonnay are good buys for everyday drinking. The Cabernet has a lot of fruit and is easy on the tannins. The Chardonnay isn't quite as oaky as some of the Californians, so it's a bit more food friendly. They also make a merlot-cabernet blend that's a couple of bucks cheaper yet still full-bodied and tasty.

I find I like wines in a huge range of prices but usually spend in the 20-30 dollar range.

I don't know quite what my average is, but I have roughly three price categories-- up to $35, up to, say, $70, and well over that. First is to just open on a Thursday or (in the cheaper range) to cook with. House reds and whites. I don't drink so much these days, so trading up from $10-15 when possible is a reasonable thing.

The next batch is what I think of as Saturday or Sunday night wines. My wife has made a real effort on dinner (which she does amazingly well), nobody's tense or expecting to rush off. This is the opportunity for lower-end Premier Cru Burgundies, good Cru Bourgeois Bordeaux or classed growths from 97/99, decent CDP. And similarly good but not heart-stopping whites. Those don't come out every week, but they could.

Then there is the really good stuff, of which I buy too much. When the time comes, it always seems a little sinful to pop the cork-- certainly on myself, and sometimes for the social occasion we've scheduled. Anyway, I'm working on that problem.

Concordia:

Sounds like you have a nice cellar my friend. I have no more than a case of Premier Cru Burgundies these days, as the dollar/euro rate, on top of the already crazy demand prices, are just too high to make much sense. Ditto Bordeaux. I do have a nice supply of very tasty Cali and some Ore stuff (I love Beaux Freres) laid down.

The only thing I am still buying from the Continent, on a regular basis, is true vintage port. I love buying half cases and planning my tasting of one bottle from the vintage, every five years after being bottle aged 10-15 years. I plan to drink mucho port in my later years

usually around £10 (when she buys it), I let the better half buy the wine as Ill just go out and buy something expensive like a tool thinking it must be good with that price tag, it only works around 60% of the time.

Unless its a ~£10 bottle of riocha which I find you can nearly never go wrong with.

Originally Posted by Piobaire

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The only thing I am still buying from the Continent, on a regular basis, is true vintage port. I love buying half cases and planning my tasting of one bottle from the vintage, every five years after being bottle aged 10-15 years. I plan to drink mucho port in my later years

Gout will no doubt be fashionable again.

French prices are indeed getting a little crazy, especially at the tippy-top where Russians and Chinese play. I'm getting a decent supply of the medium-to-good 05s-- which from all accounts will be worth a premium, even if you move down the prestige scale-- and then plan to sit on my hands for a few years. Some corks need pulling, and I mustn't forget to enjoy this stuff.

A lot of the Burgundy we have was bought when the dollar was much stronger. A fair bit of 96 and 99, some 97, decent amount of 98. At the time, top Bordeaux was being bid up by Wall Street yahoos, and the more complex Burgundy market was left to those who care. As Clive Coates said at the time, if you can get 2 cases of Richebourg for 1 of Lafite, why would an intelligent buyer choose the latter?

Admittedly, much of what I've spent on Burgundy and Bordeaux is saved from not playing in the California market. That way lies madness, and I don't even especially care for much of the product. I have a case or 2 of Ken Wrights (which my Burgundy supplier gets at decent prices), and a very few bottles of Monte Bello, but will dole them out for the next 10 years and not get sucked up the rush. A man can have only so many vices.

Just ordered a case of Groot Constantia Gouverneurs Chardonnay 2005.

So how many of you guys frequently buy 1/2 and full cases vs single bottles in building your collections?

Originally Posted by contactme_11

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So how many of you guys frequently buy 1/2 and full cases vs single bottles in building your collections?

Do you mean single bottlings or mixed cases? You usually get discounts, even with a mixed case, so I tend to buy 6, 12, etc. at a time. I just had a case of Turley arrive at my office this morning