18 & just starting

[WendyBird]

Hi.
I am 18 and I would like to start a wine collecting... Yes I know I am not old enought to buy or drink it but I would still like to start. To collect wine do I need to buy and special equipment? Do I need to choos a brand that I want to collect or a color. Are their any books I should buy? I alredy bought the Idiots guid to wine but I forgot it at work and I am very interested in know what others have to think. If you have any ideas for young new commer please offer them.

Thank you
WendyBird

[Jerry D Mead]

Assuming you have someone over 21 (a parent or older friend) to help you legally acquire your collectables...there's several ways to look at collecting.

Are you going to collect to have a broad selection on hand for your personal enjoyment and for entertaining friends, and that will accompany most any type of food, now and in the future?

Are you looking for wines that only show their best after some period of aging?

Or are you just into collecting...in which case you might pick a theme of labels with certain characteristics (labels bearing flowers, for example) or wines from Wisconsin (a bigger collection than you might imagine).

For a young person such as yourself, I'd recommend a combination of the first two. That means a mix of dry whites, off-dry whites, perhaps a few pinks, some bubbly for occasions special and not-so-special, some light, fruity reds, some powerhouse reds and a few sweet wines for after dinner. These should be wines that can be enjoyed immediately but that will still be good or better with two or three years cellaring.

For long term aging, wines that will improve dramatically over say 5-10 years, you'll find they are mostly reds and very often Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah/Shiraz based. They also tend to be more expensive. So treat yourself to such a jewel (or ask for them as holiday gifts) only occasionally. But you are young, and their number will grow more rapidly than you might imagine.

Special equipment...yeah! A corkscrew and a dark corner of an interior closet (unless you're lucky enough to have a real cellar). And remember...no matter how much space you allocate for wine storage...it is never enough!

I wish I would have started collecting at 18...I was still drinking Lucky Lager and White Port & Lemon Juice.

Good luck...let us know how your collection progresses.