The Auswine Forum

With the New Year not far away now, I thought I'd start a thread about New Year Wine resolutions. Mine are:

- More focus on Old World Wines, in particular, French and Italian reds.
- Reduce my rate of vinfanticide by purchasing more back vintages.

What's yours?

ease up on my impulse wine buying
No storage room left.

Hacker wrote::cry: ease up on my impulse wine buying
No storage room left.

If he sticks to that, my new years resolution is to put some bids on Domain Fourrier bottles

Michael R wrote:

Hacker wrote::cry: ease up on my impulse wine buying
No storage room left.

If he sticks to that, my new years resolution is to put some bids on Domain Fourrier bottles

They're not impulse! They're mandatory

Semi random thoughts

Buying a little less Barolo & Barbaresco, but sticking with Northern Piemonte & remembering the other grapes in Piemonte
Buying a bit more Rioja
Exploring Etna wines
Buying a little more Taurasi
Exploring Trentino - Alto Adige wines
Buying a little more Vino Nobile and Chianti
Buying some more Clare Valley Riesling
Buying a little more Hunter Shiraz
Buying some more Wynns Black label
Buying some more Te Mata Elston
Buying some more Ch. Fuisse Pouilly-Fuisse
Buying no more Penfolds / Barossa / McLaren Vale
Exploring German Pinot Noir / Spatburgunder
Buy the odd US red
Buy interesting wines, but avoid lookalike 'prestige' reds
Buy some decent Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (Maybe some Pepe)
Buying some more Aosta Fumin
Keep Cahors stocks up
Investigate Loire Cab Franc (and indeed other Cab Franc wines)
Buy a little more Cornas
Keep an eye out for more good half bottles
Buy a little more Dao / Bairrada / Beiras and try a little more Portuguese wines
Keep trying the odd Spanish white
Remember to drink the sweet wines
Buy some more Cortese / Gavi
Buy some Primo Joseph sparkling red

- Gattinara

- Continue exploring the Aussie secondary market due low currency which is starting to make our wines world class QPR again; though there will be a battle against the boring sameness of the late 90's styles. Had some recent joy with a brace of 10 + year old Clare rieslings bought at auction for $20- ish which were remarkable.

- Look at wine as an investment due to opportunities presented.

Less quantity. More quality.

Same with Hacker - less impulse buying.

catchnrelease wrote:Same with Hacker - less impulse buying.

Ditto!

maybs wrote:Less quantity. More quality.

Cheers to that. More pleasure on the tongue and less strain on the liver.

swirler wrote:

maybs wrote:Less quantity. More quality.

Cheers to that. More pleasure on the tongue and less strain on the liver.

If only! No, I still need to drink as much to get the cellar number down. I just plan on putting less stuff in the cellar but it being more quality. Think I'm gonna give up on the idea of collaring quaffers and get to a point where I am just buying them on an as needs basis. But there is a bit in the cellar to get through

More magnums and large format bottles with some age on them.

(1) A larger wine budget or conversely, the ability to say 'no' and pass on the latest/greatest release without having a meltdown;

(2) More Old World wines - particularly Brunello/Barolo (heavily dependent on Point 1 above); and

(3) To take the plunge on any one of a few wine business ideas floating around in my head!

maybs wrote:

swirler wrote:

maybs wrote:Less quantity. More quality.

Cheers to that. More pleasure on the tongue and less strain on the liver.

If only! No, I still need to drink as much to get the cellar number down. I just plan on putting less stuff in the cellar but it being more quality. Think I'm gonna give up on the idea of collaring quaffers and get to a point where I am just buying them on an as needs basis. But there is a bit in the cellar to get through

No need to drink too much when you can sell excess at auction. Drinking out of necessity sucks big time! You only get one body. Take care of it.

JamieBahrain wrote: Gattinara

3 recommendations:
Top End - Antoniolo - Very serious, very good & will last for years
Surprising value - Torraccia del Piantavigna - An offshoot of a major grappa distillery (that itself grew from wine production). Both Gattinara and Ghemme are very good. Odd canister like bottles (not as odd as Travaglini though, who are also very good, but perhaps well known already)
Historic gem - Vallana still haven't regained their heights of old, and it is a common perception that their fall was mostly down to tightening up on illegal blending (Aglianico from Campania is often cited as the most likely blending partner). The modern day wines are ok but not great, but if you ever see 1950s or 1960s bottles, then do pay what is now a quite sizeable amount (they were v. cheap on release). They seem to last better than most wines from that era and can be absolutely wonderful. If ever they attempt a VdT blend in an acknowledgment of the past and attempt to recreate it, then I will be queuing up to try the wines.

Also look out for Le Piane Boca and Sperino Lessona, two newer operations attempting to really make a mark in this historic area that has been somewhat left behind

regards
Ian

p.s. Ghemme has been a holiday destination for us a couple of times. Definitely not on the tourist trail, lacking much visual charm, but the people make up for it. Also home to the annual Ghemme festival where wine is to the fore. It is the only place I've ever seen groups of Italians drink to get drunk, and yet even when inebriated they retain a very respectful outlook. Gattinara may be a more natural choice for a tourist, as it is visually more appealing and the wines are on average half a notch up on Ghemme.

Seriously look at the option of additional storage.

Whittle the collection down by 20% through auction sales and put some of the proceeds in to 2008 Grower Champagnes

Drink more than I buy and only buy quality. Curb my impulses and forget about bargains....

To find a news agency in the greater Melbourne area that stocks Wine Spectator and Decanter magazines. Seems impossible.

In all seriousness, to move out of my comfort zone and explore the world of wine outside of Australia and New Zealand.

Time to spread the wings.

Benchmark wrote:To find a news agency in the greater Melbourne area that stocks Wine Spectator and Decanter magazines. Seems impossible.

In all seriousness, to move out of my comfort zone and explore the world of wine outside of Australia and New Zealand.

Time to spread the wings.

or you can go to PDFGiant website and DL some titles.
Note: ensure your internet security is up to date

cheers

Ian S wrote:

JamieBahrain wrote: Gattinara

3 recommendations:
Top End - Antoniolo - Very serious, very good & will last for years
Surprising value - Torraccia del Piantavigna - An offshoot of a major grappa distillery (that itself grew from wine production). Both Gattinara and Ghemme are very good. Odd canister like bottles (not as odd as Travaglini though, who are also very good, but perhaps well known already)
Historic gem - Vallana still haven't regained their heights of old, and it is a common perception that their fall was mostly down to tightening up on illegal blending (Aglianico from Campania is often cited as the most likely blending partner). The modern day wines are ok but not great, but if you ever see 1950s or 1960s bottles, then do pay what is now a quite sizeable amount (they were v. cheap on release). They seem to last better than most wines from that era and can be absolutely wonderful. If ever they attempt a VdT blend in an acknowledgment of the past and attempt to recreate it, then I will be queuing up to try the wines.

Also look out for Le Piane Boca and Sperino Lessona, two newer operations attempting to really make a mark in this historic area that has been somewhat left behind

regards
Ian

p.s. Ghemme has been a holiday destination for us a couple of times. Definitely not on the tourist trail, lacking much visual charm, but the people make up for it. Also home to the annual Ghemme festival where wine is to the fore. It is the only place I've ever seen groups of Italians drink to get drunk, and yet even when inebriated they retain a very respectful outlook. Gattinara may be a more natural choice for a tourist, as it is visually more appealing and the wines are on average half a notch up on Ghemme.

Thanks Ian for the comprehensive tips. I'm venturing to Piedmont just the once this year for the truffles so I'll visit a few favorites and I want to find another producer under the radar.

I have a few....

- Maintain organisation of my offsite, and input my purchases and consumption into cellartracker so I never have to go through what I did last week ever again!!! That said, i can think of worse things to do on a 39degree day than spending it in a climate controlled environment

- Less buying, more enjoying... Its time to buy our family home!!!

- Attend my first ever offsite!!! When is the next one in melbourne for a complete novice!!!

JamieBahrain wrote:
Thanks Ian for the comprehensive tips. I'm venturing to Piedmont just the once this year for the truffles so I'll visit a few favorites and I want to find another producer under the radar.

Hi Jamie
Hopefully a better year for the truffles than 2015! We chose a good year not to go it seems.
Happy to throw suggestions in when you know where you'll be.

regards
Ian

Continue to buy mostly Barolo / Barbaresco, especially backfilling as (relative) bargains pop up at auction.

Limit Hunter purchases to Tyrrells and Mount Pleasant.

Explore the world of Pinot.

So am I sticking to plan? Not bad actually..

Ian S wrote:Semi random thoughts

Buying a little less Barolo & Barbaresco (3 fails, but two 1998 Barolo and 1 x 1974 Barolo I can justify on 'balance' grounds), but sticking with Northern Piemonte & remembering the other grapes in Piemonte
Buying a bit more Rioja
Exploring Etna wines
Buying a little more Taurasi
Exploring Trentino - Alto Adige wines(nothing yet, but planning a holiday taking in Trento)
Buying a little more Vino Nobile and Chianti
Buying some more Clare Valley Riesling ( I hadn't put Hunter Semillon, but would have done if I'd expected to see much, so I'll sneak in
Buying a little more Hunter Shiraz
Buying some more Wynns Black label
Buying some more Te Mata Elston
Buying some more Ch. Fuisse Pouilly-Fuisse
Buying no more Penfolds / Barossa / McLaren Vale
Exploring German Pinot Noir / Spatburgunder
Buy the odd US red
Buy interesting wines, but avoid lookalike 'prestige' reds
Buy some decent Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (Maybe some Pepe)
Buying some more Aosta Fumin
Keep Cahors stocks up
Investigate Loire Cab Franc (and indeed other Cab Franc wines)
Buy a little more Cornas
Keep an eye out for more good half bottles
Buy a little more Dao / Bairrada / Beiras and try a little more Portuguese wines
Keep trying the odd Spanish white
Remember to drink the sweet wines
Buy some more Cortese / Gavi
Buy some Primo Joseph sparkling red

Methinks I need to remember to work the whole of the list though

Ozzie W wrote:- More focus on Old World Wines, in particular, French and Italian reds.
- Reduce my rate of vinfanticide by purchasing more back vintages.

Thanks for bumping this topic, Ian. I've had a look in CellarTracker and I'm happy with what I see.
For 2015, 91% of my wines purchased were from Australia. For 2016 to date, it's only 54%. First resolution on track!
Of my 2016 purchases, 45% were 2009 vintage or older. Second resolution on track!
It'll be interesting to look at this again in December.

Revisiting the list

Buying a little less Barolo & Barbaresco (3 fails, but two 1998 Barolo and 1 x 1974 Barolo I can justify on 'balance' grounds Actually pretty good for the rest of the year), but sticking with Northern Piemonte & remembering the other grapes in Piemonte
Buying a bit more Rioja yes, a couple more added, now closer to where I'd like it
Exploring Etna wines another added, but this hasn't yet happened - it won't be trendy by the time it I start buying
Buying a little more Taurasi Fail
Exploring Trentino - Alto Adige wines(nothing yet, but planning a holiday taking in Trento) yes, holidays do help explore and Trentino vino Santo is a joy
Buying a little more Vino Nobile and Chianti Shame on me, still no more VNdiM, yet I love the style
Buying some more Clare Valley Riesling ( I hadn't put Hunter Semillon, but would have done if I'd expected to see much, so I'll sneak in Only a single as that was all they had left of the 2006 Contours
Buying a little more Hunter Shiraz Another fail, just not seeing it - maybe a sane 13% alc Yarra Shiraz counts
Buying some more Wynns Black label Fail, but have got my eye on some
Buying some more Te Mata Elston Fail, but the shop above has some...
Buying some more Ch. Fuisse Pouilly-Fuisse
Buying no more Penfolds / Barossa / McLaren Vale successful
Exploring German Pinot Noir / Spatburgunder just 1 more added
Buy the odd US red one more added, but difficult to find stuff priced well and being confident it's a style I'd like
Buy interesting wines, but avoid lookalike 'prestige' reds doing ok
Buy some decent Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (Maybe some Pepe) just the one bottle of Pepe from a very decent wine shop in Bologna (priced much more fairly than the well-stocked Enoteca Italiana)
Buying some more Aosta Fumin Failure, but you don't see much of it around the traps
Keep Cahors stocks up another bottle and a magnum, but I ought to get some more halves
Investigate Loire Cab Franc (and indeed other Cab Franc wines) failure here, which is inexcusable as they aren't that difficult to find
Buy a little more Cornas Yes, but just a single bottle
Keep an eye out for more good half bottles a few, but probably drank more this year than we bought
Buy a little more Dao / Bairrada / Beiras and try a little more Portuguese wines A trip to Portugal plus a recent order and I've got plenty now, especially 2000 vintage Bairrada
Keep trying the odd Spanish white 3 more bought, spanning old style oxidative to more modern
Remember to drink the sweet wines Not doing too badly here
Buy some more Cortese / Gavi Another one on order, but I'd love to try the Cascina dell'Ulivi whites
Buy some Primo Joseph sparkling red Fail - I did get some interest on a UK wine forum, as even an unsplit 6 is too much for me. Might get my act together and try to revive that interest

In addition, the odd german Riesling is never a mistake, a little fizz understandable and agreeable, some already mature wines are always justifiable, a Quintarelli valpolicalla something I've always wondered about, so an easy purchase, and dotted in an eclectic bunch of other wines that keeps me from becoming boring and singular in my tastes.

When I came back to this thread I feared I'd lost sight of what I wanted to buy, but overall I've not done too bad. I reckon this thread has really helped me put a bit of thought back into my wine buying and avoiding 'good deal fever'

Looks fun Ian, some updates:

Continue to buy mostly Barolo / Barbaresco, especially backfilling as (relative) bargains pop up at auction - Success, 70% of my wine purchases this year have been Nebbiolo from Piedmonte

Limit Hunter purchases to Tyrrells and Mount Pleasant. - Success, only purchases have been from Mount Pleasant, I should have some Vat 1 on the way soon...

Explore the world of Pinot. - Fail, have only bought a handful of bottles, ended up going more down the Sicilian path so far this year...

I'm loving some of Ian's resolutions as many of them match mine over the past year, especially these few...

Exploring Etna wines - yes indeed, loving it where I can find it.
Buying no more Penfolds / Barossa / McLaren Vale - This, although did get some Marius.
Exploring German Pinot Noir / Spatburgunder - Would like to but too hard to find over here and often poor value, have had a couple of good ones via generous friends though. Must say though it's more often underwhelming that not.
Buy the odd US red - Same as the Spatburgunder comment, although I did buy a couple. When they're good, wow, but most good stuff never gets this far. And why are there no importers any more for Ridge in Oz!!! (unless there are and I missed it?)
Buying some more Aosta Fumin - OMG Definitely Yes, grabbed a few here and there, but not many to be found in Oz. Love it.
Investigate Loire Cab Franc (and indeed other Cab Franc wines) - getting there slowly, one of my fav grapes.

Others would/will be..

Cellar more Champagne, Semillon and Chardonnay
Drink (or maybe sell) some old-ish stuff that could well be underwhelming to my current taste and/or not likely to be getting any better, replace with all these above.

"I reckon this thread has really helped me put a bit of thought back into my wine buying and avoiding 'good deal fever." - I agree Ian, and ignoring/unsubscribing from the endless email offers helps as well, although there's always a bit of FOMO involved....

Cheers
TiggerK

rens wrote:Seriously look at the option of additional storage.

Two months to go. Nothing like a bit of procrastination. I seriously need more storage....