Inventory and manage your wine collection on CollecOnline
Reading time 8 min
- How do one collect wine?
- How to start a wine collection?
- A professional solution for your cellar management
- Other wine collections: wine labels and corks
After a month of work and discussions with wine professionals and oenologists, including a sommelier from a starred restaurant, CollecOnline welcomes a new family of collectors and introduces a brand new classification for: the wine collection.
As a collector or a simple amateur you might also have a wine cellar where famous wines or unknown gems are hidden... After classifying your coins, banknotes and other art pieces on CollecOnline, you can now add your wines to it in order to manage your cellar efficiently and keep track of each Grand Cru.
Some dedicated wine applications such as Vivino offer you to buy wine, on CollecOnline you can manage the ones you already own. A complete inventory of your wine cellar always at hand, or simply a collection of your finest bottles.
Before a quick introduction to wine collecting, let's have a look at some history of the magical grape juice:
- In 6,000 BC: the first vines appear in the Caucasus and Mesopotamia.
- In 3,000 BC: vines are cultivated in Egypt and Phoenicia. At that time, wine is a product reserved for the pharaohs, their entourage and the various rituals.
- From 2,000 BC onwards: the Egyptians teach the Greeks how to grow vines. These vines became a pillar of Greek culture, which exported viticulture to the whole Mediterranean basin. Wine took such an important place that they attributed a deity to it: Dionysus, god of wine and vine.
- From 1,000 to 500 BC: vines have spread and are now cultivated throughout Italy, North Africa, Spain, Portugal and the south of France.
- From 500 BC to the Middle Ages: established by the Romans, the implantation of vines is massive in Europe. Wine was cut with water and infused with herbs and other spices. The wine we know today appeared later, in the Middle Ages.
- From the 17th century onwards: wines became more and more qualitative. The choice of terroirs, the improvement of vinification and the possibility of ageing wines were all introduced.
Now that we know more about wine history, let’s look into wine collecting and wine collectors.
How do one collect wine?
We can start by asking ourselves how to really define a collector's wine... Does it have to be a rare wine which would be difficult to acquire? It could also be a grand cru that has an excellent vintage. The millennium vintage perhaps? Or is it a wine that should be carefully preserved and that can be consumed or sold later..?
We are mostly talking about conservation here, but also consumption this time. Even if the wine is collected as an object, the collector's ultimate goal is eventually to drink it. The oenophile is the only collector who knows and voluntarily causes the destruction of his treasures and his passion. Of course, there are wine collectors who only collect wine as fine objects. The bottles are then carefully stored and displayed. As with other types of collection, in these cases the collector can has a theme and several approaches are to be favoured.
- A regional theme: the collector bases his wine collection on a favourite region. He does not focus on the appellations but on all the wines offered by the region.
- A grape variety theme: the collector bases his collection on the grape variety of the wine. Take the example of pinot noir which can be found in wines from Burgundy as well as from Australia.
- A theme relating to the domains: the collector bases himself on a specific domain that he already knows and appreciates. For example, in 2007, a hotel acquired a collection of 135 bottles of Château d'Yquem during an auction.
A wine lover on a grand scale
Wine collectors are true wine lovers, they are passionate about wine as a concept, as an object, as an art, and then enjoy drinking it. This behaviour is the same as for a wine lover who builds up his cellar, but on a completely different scale.
In fact, the wine collector sometimes has the same approach as the wine lover. With a more global approach, some collectors have a wide variety of different wines. In the case of neophyte collectors, this allows them to learn more about their preferences as they go along. In the case of an experienced collector, this type of collection allows him to have in his cellar all the wines he likes to drink.
In wine collecting, as other collections, we are looking for a rare item but this collection keeps its living side. Wine collectors like to share their favourites and the bottles they have carefully kept in their cellar.
How to start a wine collection?
Wine collectors like to have a well-stocked cellar, but their purpose is still consumption. They are not just looking to collect bottles. They are looking above all to enjoy themselves and to drink it. But to appreciate his great wines, several elements come into play. Whether you are a young collector or an older one, here are some tips that will always be useful to keep your wine cellar up to date.
Think about storage
Of course, you must think about the available space you have before embarking on a wine collection. Do you have a complete cellar at your disposal or do you only have a pantry? The space will determine how much wine you can store. The storage conditions are also important.
Your cellar should be at a cool and constant temperature (between 10 and 14°C). Thermal shock should be avoided as corks lose elasticity with temperature changes. They allow air to pass through and end up oxidising the wine. Particular attention should be paid to old bottles which are more fragile and sensitive.
To optimise the conservation of wine, it is preferable to store your wine lying down. This position allows the cork to be in contact with the wine. It is best to avoid movements that could alter the wine. It is not necessary to turn the cork to prevent the deposit from sticking to the linings. There will be more risks than benefits.
The humidity level is an important factor in the conservation of wine. It should be between 70% and 80%, but not higher than that to avoid mould. This ambient humidity helps the wine to breathe thanks to its cork.
Ultraviolet rays accelerate the oxidation of the wine and its evolution. Your wine should preferably be stored in the dark.
All of these elements allow you to enjoy ageing wines at their peak.
Think in categories of wine
By distinguishing categories you will have a better view of the wines you have. Two categories are sufficient: young wines (from 1 to 3 years) and wines to be aged (from 4 to 15 years and more).
Do not hesitate to note your wines’ characteristics... What does the colour and nose look like? Is it a round, fleshy, full or supple wine? This information will allow you to know what food to pair them with when you open them and to have a wide range of wines to offer. Of course, focus on the wines you like.
Think of wine collecting as an investment
If you are just starting your wine collection, you can set yourself a budget. This budget will inevitably evolve as your interest grows and the bottles you have in your cellar. Occasions will also lead you to spend more or less. The budget should not be your main requirement.
Make sure you keep the original packaging for lots (cases of 6 or 12 bottles). Generally, wooden cases guarantee the authenticity and quality of the batch. Also keep all the purchase receipts for the great wines. They will allow you to have a clear inventory.
Moreover, your inventory must be permanently updated, which is now possible for your bottles of wine on CollecOnline, as it was possible with wine cellar management software. This inventory will allow you to insure your cellar efficiently in case of unfortunate events.
A professional solution for your cellar management
Whether you are a wine merchant, a sommelier, a restaurant owner, a wine expert, an oenologist or the owner of a vineyard, CollecOnline offers you a complete solution for your business. Perhaps you still manage your wine cellar with an Excel file? Today our platform allows you to make a complete inventory but also a valuation of your stocks without using a cellar management software. This collection can still be private or public and can have several advantages.
It can allow you to visualise your stock easily, having all your information at a glance. From what wine you have to how many bottles are in your cellar. You can update your file in no time. You can also add a large number of characteristics to your wine.
So, if your sommelier is not available, all this information will allow a simplified presentation of wine by another member of the brigade. Our platform can even serve as a "wine list" or rather an indicator for your customers. A simple QR code to have access to all the information about a wine.
By using a secure link, a wine merchant can easily send you the wines he has available and which may be in his stockroom. This makes the waiting interactive and makes it easier for customers and managers to find what they are looking for.
Our site also serves as a complete inventory for your insurance. Not to mention, you can produce a paper catalogue from your digital data.
Other wine collections: wine labels and corks
Several types of collections exist around wine.
Firstly, oenographilia, which consists of the collection of wine labels, and specifically the wines’ one. The name for collections of alcohol labels is ethyllabellophilia. The oenographilist, like a philatelist, will take the label off a wine’s bottle to preserve it and add it to his collection.
One might ask why oenographilia? Well, for several reasons. The simple beauty of the label or for its rarity. One can also keep the label to record the wines you already tasted. Like a wine diary. The label can also serve as a souvenir of a tasting moment. And this wine label is often representative of what we will find in our glass.
Wine corks are also very popular. Cork stoppers are particularly popular because it’s increasingly being replaced by less binding materials. What attracts in the cork stopper is often its age, its rarity and the bottle which it comes from.
Wine cork collectors are lucky enough to have two names for them: tappabotuphiles or buttappoenophiles. The choice is yours!
More and more showcases exist to display your corks. This small object is not so easy to obtain. It can only be made from cork oak and only part of its bark can be used to make corks. Moreover, in order not to mistreat the tree, the bark is only removed every 9 years. The average age of a cork oak tree at the time of its first harvest for the manufacture of corks is 40 years.
