how many bottles in your collection?

[Glass_A_Day]

I just bought my second cellar. Currently have about 100 bottles down for a nap. I have recently found the old addage that temp swing is the only thing that hurts wine is false. I have a friend who has a mini cellar. He fits the best he has in there and stores the rest in the basement. Never gets above 72 or so and never drops below 60 in the winter. Well, of late, the two of us have been working on early 90's Napa cabs. Those in basement storage were dead. Long dead. Those in the cooler were perfect. Now I know the cooler wines were the cream of the crop... but there were some pretty damn nice bottles out of the cooler as well. These wines should be peaking and instead they were plunking. Lesson learned for novice me. Everything of value goes in a cooler or gets drunk.

As for what foodie said. I have a little trouble with your philosophy. If your were truely afraid to put back any amount of wine because of the possibility of an unforseen accident, wouldn't that hold true for buying a house or getting married. What would happen to your wife and home if you died? They would still be there just like a wine collection.