No more than 6 usually. If I'm out and about in a region it really can be a mixed bag. If there's a decent cleanskin on the go or something going for a song I'll back the car up. I think 3 bottles of anything is a great number, particularly if you plan to age them. Hedge your bets etc. QPR wines like Wynns BL and Pennies 28 you cant go wrong with 3-6. A cult/boutique/personal fave wine in a solid vintage I'll go anywhere from 6-12.
There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.
3 or 4 max for me as a rule now. I have started having a bit of a cellar clearout as my tastes are changing and some of the wines I have aged are not as good as I thought they would be. Noon and Greenock Creek are amongst the biggest culprits.
For wines that I really, really enjoy (such as Marius, Gomersal etc) I am happy to buy 6. But there are only a few now like that.
I am pretty lucky that I can split dozens with mates. I have split many cases in the last few years and ended up with plenty of 3 or 4 bottle lots, which is perfect for me.
I am going to buy much less wine the next few years and try and drink the cellar down to a more managable number. Lots of wine dinners hopefully!
Cheers Ian
If you had to choose between drinking great wine or winning Lotto, which would you choose - Red or White?
I just looked at CT, and I have 31 different wines where I have at least 12 bottles.... and up to 60 bottles. Of those 31, I would love more of 22 of them. There is only 1 of the remaining 9 that I could happily do without.
So I guess, based on this thread, that puts me in the minority. That said, having been buying and cellaring wine for 30 years, I feel reasonably comfortable that my palate won't change too much, though it certainly has in the past.
I rarely buy dozens now. Sometimes quaffers to stock the wine rack for my father-in-law's visits. Otherwise I think the only other in the past couple of years was the Hoddles Creek Estate Pinot '15, drink a few early and cellar a few.
I buy 6-packs for a few mainstays of my cellar - wines which I know and love, and which I can cellar confidently. These purchases will likely come down to 3s-4s as I gather vintages. Sometimes buy 6-packs if I find a good deal on something I want - especially Pinot at the moment - to drink 2-3 early and keep a few.
Most often, I'll buy 3-4 of wines that I want to cellar. Often a mixed 6-pack from favourite producers.
For special occasion wines, if the price is up there a bit more (for me), I'll try to get 2 or 3 for the cellar.
I don't like to get singles for the cellar. I'll get singles as tasters, and sometimes older wines from auction.
Living in Canada and having access to wines from all over the world in our stores I have always cellared widely, ususally buying in twos and threes. Being "bored" by wines is never an issue. The fact that I like well-aged, mature wines also means that I never get bored as I have more time to spread out a larger purchase. Of course much depends on how long the wine can age. Of the first case of wine I ever bought back in the late eighties I still have a bottle. Of the second case of wine, a 1981 Bodeaux, I still have three bottles and have. A case of wine spread over two decades can never, to my way of thinking, ever be boring. Wine is to meant to be enjoyed with food and if one purchases widely, and that includes countries, regions, varietals, producer and vintage, then one ought never be bored.
I suspect that even in Australia, were one to stick to Australian wines, which was very much a reality for most people some years ago, there was still an opportunity to buy widely, though of course not to the same extent. For example a case of d'Arrey's Original could easily last more that a decade and with each passing year afford a different profile. The same would be true of deeper and bigger reds that would last even longer. Even if one were to look at shirazes, surely an O'Shea and a Wendouree of the same vintage would never be boring over two decades even when served together because they would be different at every stage of their evolution.
Buy widely, and, if you have enough wine, then even cases will never be boring.
