Optimum Buying Quantity

[Andrew Jordan]

Not sure if this topic has been covered here before, but I would be interested in peoples thoughts/opinions regarding their buying strategics regarding wine.

Due to some wines being allocated (i.e. 2002 St Peters), some wines being a tad pricey, and the overall cellar space constraint issue, most of the time there are not to many options regarding how many bottles of 1 particular you buy. And for me personally, half case and case purchases on most wine purchases are not an option for me due to 1 or more of the factors mentioned above.

But what if you had an option on quantity purchased on a particular wine that caught your eye. Preferably, I try to get at least 3 to 4 bottles so that I can see the wine evolve over the years, and try it when it's young to when it is really hitting it's straps.

What about you? What is your optimum buying quantity??

AJ

[BenK]

3 bottles

[GrahamB]

I used to buy in carton lots. If I continue like this I will never get to drink them before falling off the perch.

These days it is more likely to be 1 to try and then 3 to 6 for cellaring.

Must always have cartons of quaffers on hand when the rellies come around.

Graham

[Gavin Trott]

Speaking as a collector/wine tragic not retailer, I used to buy 12, then 6, now I tend to buy threes.

Always looking for soemthing different to drink.

Pros and cons of course, if the wine does not develop as you'd thought, three are not too bad to drink.

If however the first bottle is stunning, only 2 more to drink?

[PaulV]

A bit like Gavin but usually try to buy 4 of a wine I particularly like (go thirds in a case with like-minded friends). Allows me to try one within a month or so and leave 3 in the cellar.

There is just so much variety but within Australia and overseas that buying more than this really limits the breadth of your cellar.

Cheers

Paul

[707]

I was always a dozen man but now I tend to buy six packs plus another one or two for more immediate consumption. That way I don't have to break open the case just to see how it's travelling.

The exception to the six pack rule is when something is just great value and will drink well from release for the next three years plus. In these cases a dozen is the purchase, recent examples are Kaesler 02 Stonehorse Shiraz, Tim Adams 02 Shiraz, Mamre Brook 02 Cabernet.

When it comes to the BIG guns like Kaesler Old Bastard, Roennfeldt Roads and RunRig I'll tend to buy three.

Six packs do stack nicely too and are light to handle.

[Neville Nessuno]

Agree with 3-4 bottle max comments. Nowadays with the lack of consistency of most of the old school wineries, a dozen purchase is rare and also with the variety of good stuff out there, there is just too much good stuff to try and it also limits the risk when you get ones that dont shape up with time.

NN

[TORB]

Exactly the same strategy as Steve; a smart man that Mr 707!

[Vickie]

Hi AJ,

Like many other posters, I tend to buy in lots of 3 for variety.

However, if its one that I've tried before and loved, I'll buy 6.

Rarely do I buy cases (ie 12).

Cheers,
Vickie

[Gianna..]

I have gone the other way to most who have responded to this thread.

I used to buy 6 packs, now I much prefer to buy in 12's.

However, I am now very, very careful about my purchases and will only buy a case of 12 once I've tried the wine twice. (generally at restaurants first and then a second single bottle).

My rational is: if I really like a wine after the first bottle, I will normally have the second fairly soon to verify. Then I realise that I only have 4 left and start to sulk about not having enough to enjoy more over time.

It's a bit like the 3rd or 4th day of a week's holiday, you know it aint going to last much longer, but oh the pleasure when you know you have at least one more week (or 6 pack) up your sleeve.

[Red Bigot]

Exactly the same strategy as Steve; a smart man that Mr 707!

Me three, looks like a common red bigot strategy...

[Wizz]

I was always a 3's man ut I'm startin gto move in the other direction: try first, and if good, then buy 6. Im buying much more from CD these days (Australian stuff anyway) so that works better with delivery too.

For the heavy hitters, its usualy 1 to 3 due to budget limits - I've developed a penchant for 1er Burgundy so this is a bit of a problem...

AB

[bigkid]

Aahh RB, TORB, 707 et al, but would you now buy 3's if you only had 77 bottles in your cellar and were just getting started??

Regards,

Allan

PS: why the hell is my avatar still a white box with a red cross!!! It should be one of my stunning electric guitars! It's just a jpeg 3k in size 50x70 pixels! a

[Rob]

Minimum 2 bottles regardless what kind of wine it is.
If I like the wine, I know I still have at least another one to enjoy. If the wine is bad, I know I have at least another wine to compare.
If I know the wine well, I will buy a 6 pack. Rarely buy a case of 12. Only ever done it once.

[Red Bigot]

Aahh RB, TORB, 707 et al, but would you now buy 3's if you only had 77 bottles in your cellar and were just getting started??

Regards,

Allan

PS: why the hell is my avatar still a white box with a red cross!!! It should be one of my stunning electric guitars! It's just a jpeg 3k in size 50x70 pixels! a

Allan, with the huge variety of wines on offer these days, from nearly 2000 makers, I don't think I'd change the strategy too much if I was just starting out, maybe a few more case buys, but still mostly 3's or 6-packs. especially if you think your palate is just developing, nothing like having 3 or more case lots of wine you don't like anymore 3-5 years down the track.

Re avatar, where is it hosted? have you loaded it on Auswine or is it on another site?

[bigkid]

Hi Brian,

Thanks for that, just when I'd had the 20 cases of wine I needed on my list, someone comes up with a sensible alternative strategy!! $%$@#

As to the avatar I just loaded a file from my computer which was an option on the "Profile" page. Not sure what I am doing wrong but it sems to be happening to others also - the white square/red cross appears on a lot of posts.

PS - it was your web page that led me to auswine forum via a google search for a bottle of plonk. Yours' and Ric's sites are very good resources for us newbies, probably for old hands as well. On behalf of all us newbies thanks Brian and Ric for the effort that goes into these sites.

Allan

[Adam]

I dont quite understand why people buy 7 bottles, there seems to be something psycological about having 6 bottles in the cellar.

Buying 7 makes it difficult to ship etc.

[Red Bigot]

Hi Brian,
Thanks for that, just when I'd had the 20 cases of wine I needed on my list, someone comes up with a sensible alternative strategy!! $%$@#

Sorry to ruin your strategy, some people hit their groove in wine styles pretty quickly, others take a few years or more.

As to the avatar I just loaded a file from my computer which was an option on the "Profile" page. Not sure what I am doing wrong but it sems to be happening to others also - the white square/red cross appears on a lot of posts.

Your profile doesn't show an avatar at all so something must have gone wrong. Maybe gavin can help, send him an email or PM.

PS - it was your web page that led me to auswine forum via a google search for a bottle of plonk. Yours' and Ric's sites are very good resources for us newbies, probably for old hands as well. On behalf of all us newbies thanks Brian and Ric for the effort that goes into these sites.

Allan

Thanks, glad you find them useful.

[Red Bigot]

I dont quite understand why people buy 7 bottles, there seems to be something psycological about having 6 bottles in the cellar.

Buying 7 makes it difficult to ship etc.

Adam, it can indeed, I think Steve buys more locally and from CD than may people. I have a lot of 5's in my cellar, I don't buy as many extra bottles as Steve seems to, but I make up selections for a lot of winetastings and dig into 6-pack purchases, so if it's a wine I really like I may buy 1-or 2 extras either at the same time or on special later, depends on where I'm buying and whether it fits with the rest of an order.

Six just seems to be a nice number to have enough for trying 1-2 or even 3 over a few years to assess development and having some left when it's at peak.

[camw]

Having 6 also makes it seem less obvious when you are selling at auction that you've tried one and must immediatly dispose of the other 5

[Serge Birbrair]

Wine Tasting in Piemonte

Brunello

Chateau Cos D’Estournel

Amarone

Joseph Phelps

[bigkid]

Thanks Brian, will email Gavin.

Allan

[Red Bigot]

Having 6 also makes it seem less obvious when you are selling at auction that you've tried one and must immediatly dispose of the other 5

[Red Bigot]

can somebody post a magic formula based on:
cellar space?
number of bottles consumed per week?

It's not quite that simple, you have to factor in avarage age of the wine at drinking from the cellar, wines that go to auction because you don't like them down the track, how much variety you want to have, etc etc.

[707]

Serge, it's easy, just answer these questions.

How many bottles do you consume per year?

At what average age do you like to drink your mature wines?

What ratio of mature versus new release wines do you drink?

How confident are you in selecting young wines that will age well and to your liking? Ones that don't you'll jetison at maturity.

So, if you drink 200 bottles per year, half are mature, half are just purchased and you like your mature wines to be eight years old and you get a 75% success rate in choosing the wines and you allow 10% for TCA taint your formula for storage would look like this -

100 mature bottles x 8 years / .75 / .9 =1185 bottles which means you need to have storage for about 100 cases or 200 six packs.

Easy eh?

[Serge Birbrair]

Serge, it's easy, just answer these questions.

How many bottles do you consume per year?

At what average age do you like to drink your mature wines?

What ratio of mature versus new release wines do you drink?

How confident are you in selecting young wines that will age well and to your liking? Ones that don't you'll jetison at maturity.

So, if you drink 200 bottles per year, half are mature, half are just purchased and you like your mature wines to be eight years old and you get a 75% success rate in choosing the wines and you allow 10% for TCA taint your formula for storage would look like this -

100 mature bottles x 8 years / .75 / .9 =1185 bottles which means you need to have storage for about 100 cases or 200 six packs.

Easy eh?

Steve, 400 a year is a better number, my better half indulges as well
..and if I use 3 packs instead of 6 packs,
one number adjustment will negate another wine adjustment, keeping 1185 number. I only have 220 capacity at the moment, so the formula provided helps me A LOT!
I either should lower the variety, or % of old wines, or both or...increase capacity.

Thasnk you, with formula in hand I now can analyze and massage the numbers!

[Baby Chickpea]

I also ONLY ever buy now 1-6 bottles, the majority in 3-4s. Only one exception - like 96 Dom and 90 Krug, some rare vinatge madeiras etc. Otherwise I would go broke and or my bed would hit the ceiling! Depends where ou are - I have 100s of cases so no need for dozens lots or even many 6 bottle lots. And I too love variety. In early days used toalways buy in 6 and 12-bottle lots. Only ever drank 1-4 bottles of each and rest went to auction. To much to drink!

[Baby Chickpea]

I dont quite understand why people buy 7 bottles, there seems to be something psycological about having 6 bottles in the cellar.

Buying 7 makes it difficult to ship etc.

Adam, it can indeed, I think Steve buys more locally and from CD than may people. I have a lot of 5's in my cellar, I don't buy as many extra bottles as Steve seems to, but I make up selections for a lot of winetastings and dig into 6-pack purchases, so if it's a wine I really like I may buy 1-or 2 extras either at the same time or on special later, depends on where I'm buying and whether it fits with the rest of an order.

Six just seems to be a nice number to have enough for trying 1-2 or even 3 over a few years to assess development and having some left when it's at peak.

For many years I always bought 5 from Bass Phillip - he would often fill in with a sixth free of charge ! he finally cottoned on after 3-4 years!

[Guest]

For many years I always bought 5 from Bass Phillip - he would often fill in with a sixth free of charge !

Now thats OPTIMUM BUYING!!!

Christo

[Adam]

Having 6 also makes it seem less obvious when you are selling at auction that you've tried one and must immediatly dispose of the other 5

Haha....this is the best reason. but topped by BCP's buying 5 idea!!