The Auswine Forum

I realise from previous posts that true winos don't put such restraints on themselves. However, operating under a fairly strict budget, I thought I'd get your opinions on this one.

If you had $200.00/mth to spend on wine, how would you best spend it.
The basic tradeoff is quantity vs quality. Do you drink less wine but of higher expense and (perhaps) quality or more wine but less quality?

I've given only a few options in the poll but I think you get my drift. Obviously there are a myriad of different options so I am just interested in your general opinions on this.

Cheers,
Andrew

Sell the kids and convince the wife to go on the game Then you can afford more of the good stuff.

I think the decision would depend largely on how many mouths to feed! Just you or for a couple of drinkers?

I don't know about others, but if I drank a single bottle of wine at a sitting I'd be rorted!

If it's wine drinknig with food you're into.. a bottle of wine should last a person two days - soemtimes three depending on the wine and how quickly it changes..

But I say just buy as many $15 wines as possible, there's a LOT of quality out there.. check out the newly released QUAFF for the latest and greatest!

cheers
Max

GRB wrote:Sell the kids and convince the wife to go on the game Then you can afford more of the good stuff.

Unfortunately, it is the wife who is contributing all income to the house at the moment. I quit my job and went back to uni to become a school teacher (different debate right there). Therefore, she is already supporting us all and my wine habit.

How much do you reckon I could get for a kid though? I have a 1 year old and a 15 week old fetus. Obviously, there is a 6-mth wait on delivery of the fetus!

1x50 (cellar) 4x30 (drink 2, cellar 2) 6x20 (drink 4 cellar 2) 1x10 (for friends who come over)

Who know really...depends on how much you drink...do you want a cellar, what style you like...

Theres no formula for this...

Max wrote:I don't know about others, but if I drank a single bottle of wine at a sitting I'd be rorted!

Really...just one bottle?? 2 is easy, 3 doable...

I don't think it is that cut and dried.....some months there are great cheaper bargains, and others, like this month with Kalleske, a bit more expensive. At times I would be tempted to use 2 months worth of budget and at other times, 3 months

You have to cut thru the myriad of marketing and sales hype thrust upon you and make decisions accordingly. This forum is a good arbitor of that!

Grants review of Mr Riggs The Gaffer sounds tempting for this month. So do the 2005 reislings. Too many choices!! There goes the budget in a few key strokes.

I think I'm 14 months in arrears...

How much do you reckon I could get for a kid though? I have a 1 year old and a 15 week old fetus. Obviously, there is a 6-mth wait on delivery of the fetus!

It would depend if your selling them live or simple for sausage mince

Seriously though when I was in the same situation many moons ago I would aim around the current equivalent of $15 with the occasional splash out for something more expensive to cellar. When there is things like The Gaffer and the current release of Heartland around you will get some pretty impresive drinking around that price. Don't forget things like Wynns BL and Kalimna can be got for well under $20 if you hunt for the bargains and buy in mixed cases. They will both cellar pretty well.

Glen

Adam wrote:

Max wrote:I don't know about others, but if I drank a single bottle of wine at a sitting I'd be rorted!

Really...just one bottle?? 2 is easy, 3 doable...

I concur...

For me, I don't think I can match my purchasing habits on a set formula. I understand where you are coming from, but unfortunately when you get the wine bug, just throw the budget out the window and make sure you have plenty of credit!

Every year I try to list all the wines I am going to purchase on a "Master List" and anything on this list gets priority over all other wine purchases. The list is a fluid document so it does change as the year goes on, with additions and subtractions on wine I have tasted and didn't like or loved and I NEEDED to purchase them. I suppose the point I am trying to make is that month to month, I do not think you can really classify your wine buying into a certain category .. 5 x $15 wine, 1 x $50 wine, etc .... it all comes down to what is available/released in that month and what you have tasted and deemed worthy to go into your cellar.

One month I may buy only premium wine (over $50 per bottle) but in other months it maybe all quaffers, that will not see the end of the year. But at the end of the day, whatever your budget is $200, $500, $1000 per month, you will end up buying what you like the most out of the many wines the market has to offer. And by doing this you will built a cellar of wines that you (and your friends ) will enjoy over the next 5- 10 plus years.

Lincoln wrote:

Adam wrote:

Max wrote:I don't know about others, but if I drank a single bottle of wine at a sitting I'd be rorted!

Really...just one bottle?? 2 is easy, 3 doable...

I concur...

Snap

I have got my girlfriend thoroughly trained on the concept of the "gentlemans bottle"...a glass for the lady, rest of the bottle for the gentleman. With this approach, 2 bottles or a magnum is optimal.

Agree with Adam with the mixed case approach. When I first started out I bought about half a dozen complete quaffers, 3 or 4 $15 - $20 'better' wines and got one or two special wines to put away.

The trick to building a decent cellar is to always have a decent cheapie on hand to quaff so you don't drink the wines you should be cellaring. Eventually, as situations change, you buy more good wine and less cheapies, although I still always have plenty of quaffers on hand.

One thing to note, really top class rieslings and semillons are not expensive and age very well. These can be bought at quaffer prices mostly. Of course, you have to be in the Not Red Bigot group for this approach to work.

Also, my wine buying changes with the seasons. Even though the expensive mailers are in peak season right now, I'm also very much looking at whites as all the rieslings are released. Through winter the purchasing is almost exclusively red though. Another option is to buy a case of cheapies and then a case of more expensive stuff.

The main problem with your suggestion is that with some wines, the buying window is short and she who hesitates, is lost - or left without wine. Also, some stuff can only be bought off mailing lists and a six pack is usually the minimum purchase so mixed cases aren't always an option.

I suggest you get a part time job to cover wine buying habits. It is an obsession.

Wizz wrote:

Lincoln wrote:

Adam wrote:

Max wrote:I don't know about others, but if I drank a single bottle of wine at a sitting I'd be rorted!

Really...just one bottle?? 2 is easy, 3 doable...

I concur...

Snap

Oh dear-half is good, one is a stretch, two is bad, three is IV drip and stomach suction time.....

Go for four fifty buck wines-and a carton of Squires if you need a drink.....

Adam wrote:

Max wrote:I don't know about others, but if I drank a single bottle of wine at a sitting I'd be rorted!

Really...just one bottle?? 2 is easy, 3 doable...

Haha! Goodness - my softness among friends transcends the internet!

But seriously, it doens't take much to get me stuffed... the most I've drunk by myself was an entire bottle of Penfolds Thomas Hylands Shiraz at my girlfriend's best friend's birthday dinner. I had no idea no one was helping me out until I got to the end of it. 'Twas in fine form that night I tell you!

Actually.. sometimes if i have one glass of red with dinner, especially I've trained that day, I'm pretty useless after dinner and can't write - so usually have to lay off on "busy" nights.

Am I the only one afflicted with this curse??

Max wrote:Am I the only one afflicted with this curse??

No your not the only one, theres literally millions of young Korean women here who have a similar problem...

Max wrote:

Adam wrote:

Max wrote:I don't know about others, but if I drank a single bottle of wine at a sitting I'd be rorted!

Really...just one bottle?? 2 is easy, 3 doable...

Haha! Goodness - my softness among friends transcends the internet!

But seriously, it doens't take much to get me stuffed... the most I've drunk by myself was an entire bottle of Penfolds Thomas Hylands Shiraz at my girlfriend's best friend's birthday dinner. I had no idea no one was helping me out until I got to the end of it. 'Twas in fine form that night I tell you!

Actually.. sometimes if i have one glass of red with dinner, especially I've trained that day, I'm pretty useless after dinner and can't write - so usually have to lay off on "busy" nights.

Am I the only one afflicted with this curse??

If I start drinking red wine at 5.30pm-6.00pm it takes about 5 hours or more to get through a bottle. Well, if it's a reasonable quaffer that is. Suits me fine because I don't bother to decant and something like the Taylors cab 03 that I'm presently drinking tend to peak within that period after opening and I get to experience the wine as it oxidises in the opened then resealed bottle and as it oxidises in the glass from a different starting point. Whites tend to disappear a bit quicker, probably bcause as they lose their chill they become less enjoyable. And they seem to oxidise more quickly. But 3-4 hours for a bottle of say, Houghton ssb or an Evans & Tate chard would be about average.

Nah, not afflicted by your curse. Nor do I regard alcoholism to be an affliction or a curse



daz

GRB wrote:Sell the kids and convince the wife to go on the game Then you can afford more of the good stuff.

Hmm...

"It's a good job, and you'd be working from home"

"Why go all the way to London when you can make a fortune lying on your back"

Kieran

Grasshopper, the solution is easy - set up a $200 per month standing order to Gavin & let him choose!

Seriously though, it very much depends on
a) How much you want to drink
b) How many wines you already have & whether they're reaching maturity
c) Do you want drink now wines, or to lay down

Once these are decided it should be a little easier to plan, as you'll have an idea of how many you need to be "ready" every month.

Even if you go for bulk, I think going for one pricier wine a month should give you something to look forward to (for either cellaring or enjoyment).

Let me say that I currently tend to purchase somewhere between $15 and $20 wines and am msotly drinking them myself with dinner or occasionally with friends - my wife is pregnant so is off the booze. I can't get a part-time job as I am a stay-at-home dad this year while my wife works and I complete my studies.

I recently purchased a mixed case that included the Heartland Shiraz, Mr Riggs The Gaffer Shiraz, and Majella The Musician. This came to a total of around $190.00. However, I have never really purchased the $50+ wines and so I was mainly interested to see if anyone was going to really recommend this option. To me, the quality difference would have to be substantial.

I realised at the very beginning that no set formula would work everytime but was after a general feeling.

Thanks heaps everyone for your input here.

Cheers,
Andrew

The maxim I live by is this

"Its easier to gain forgiveness than permission"