For me, maybe not a change in taste, but more like a slow evolution based on trying different wines. Started out buying Cali Cabs only - still like them but going more and more to WA for value. Used to shun Cali Syrah - all the examples I tried were flabby and one dimensional. Then I tried some WA Syrah and blends - big shift in buying volume towards WA Syrah now. Really like the Bedrock Hudson Syrah and would like to try more "top-shelf" rhones from Central Cali some day. Slowly starting to buy some CdP now too. Still like Dry Creek Zin and Cali Pinots, but pretty selective about both. Never got into Bordeaux mainly due to price - ditto for Burgs. Still have not bought a lot of white wine - a few ageable Chards and a few Sauv Blancs and NV sparkling wine for near term consumption, but still 95% red in the cellar.

My buying trends change slightly ever year based on what region I’m exploring at that time. Started with Bordeaux, then Brunello, the rest of Italy, CDP, etc. Recently, I made it a point in 2010 to expand my knowledge of Spain and Germany so those purchases went up. In 2011 my focus was on the Lorie, Languedoc and Provence. 2012 has been CA Pinot and Chard. Now I’m starting to focus on Burgundy which is the only large wine area I have yet to really dive into. While I have had some great white and red Burgs, I don’t know much about the area, history, etc. I purchased Matt Kramers book so that will be my winter reading. Overall, the style of wines I am buying has not changed as I have always liked balanced/nuanced wines. The quantity of purchases are going down each year due simply to the fact that we are just not drinking as much as we used to.

My purchases have been on the steady decline for the last couple of years, mainly due to the lack of space. I still seem to be buying more than I'm drinking though so I see that pattern continuing for awhile.

My cellar will start to reach the initial stages of maturity in about 2014-2015, so as I start to drink those I'll probably replace them with wines that are in their window in the 5-15 year range due to my age. I expect that I'll do some back filling as part of those requirements though.

My only change is to spend more of my Tuscany dollars on Bolgheri instead of Brunello. Why? I feel most BdM's are best at at least 15 years, if not 20 or more, and I just don't know if I will be able to enjoy the current releases in their prime. Plus the fact that there are more and more great wines coming out of the coastal region.

I have cut down on buying "trophy" wines and am concentrating on finding better QPR wines with narrower drinking windows. That's not to say that if something amazing comes up I won't be tempted, but my current habits have changed. I've been buying more Cali and Oregon pinot moir and CdP.

I'm buying more aged wines when I can find them at reasonable prices with good provenance. And more Champagne than ever.

I quit buying Bordeaux for the most part after the 2003 vintage.

PH

Napa > Washington > Central Coast > Southern Rhone > Bordeaux > Northern Rhone > Germany Burgundy > Austria > Cru Beaujolais > Loire > Jura

Rarely buy anything outside of Europe anymore.

quote:

Originally posted by Matthew Latuchie:
Rarely buy anything outside of Europe anymore.

homegeny is boring

Ironic juxtaposition....

PH

Until a year and a half ago, I was mostly on Bordeaux and cabernet based chilean wines. Loved Northen Rhone syrah but wasn't buying much. Since the beginning of 2012, Lots of Burgundy, Chablis, Beaujolais Crus and some italian from Piemont. Will buy more whites, Syrah from Northen Rhone and maybe some Bordeaux, if I can affort them. 2010 is the birth year of my twins, si will have to do something about it

Also looking to buy older bottles, mostly Bordeaux and cabernet based Cali wines...

dzitt

Over the past couple of years, have been buying mostly Pinot Noirs, Chardonnays, and Ports. At the expense of Cabs, Syrahs, SB, Sangiovese and other varietals. Probably due to changes in diet, less red meat and carbs, more seafood, chicken, and other lighter fares.

A trip to the N Rhone last year really got me going on the region. I've always appreciated the wines but I found the value in Crozes and St Joseph to be unparalled and the relatively early drinking windows to my liking. Since changing jobs, Italy has picked up its' pace in my cellar. BdX is making a comeback for me as there some amazing, inexpensive wines being produced by talented and passionate individuals at reasonable prices. I still love Burgundy but after 5 years in Oregon, I’m chasing non-Pinot based wines. I’ll fill in here and there and have purchased some very nice wines from 02-10 but will probably hold back for a few vintages. I must admit though, I am buying less wine now than I ever have since finding this hobby. Loads of samples must have something to do with this phenomenon...

quote:

Originally posted by Board-O:


Have other people's buying trends changed, and are they due to age or changing tastes? Mine are due to both.

Mine have indeed changed, but mine have never really been static.

My current cellar is French, Italian and Spanish with less than 100 bottles of other. While I do not currently see that changing, what wines I'm buying now are different that the past 30 years.

The ever expanding world of fine wine continues and I find that very exciting. The renaissance of Italian wine that started in the '90's and continues today, and the renaissance in Spain with many emerging regions keeps me searching, along with California finding their new balance of better wines from different areas along with more varietals than in the past.

I have been saying for several years now that I find white wines to be the most interesting wines in the world today, and now have a number of friends saying the same thing which makes me smile. The white wines today coming out of regions like Friuli-Venazia Giulia, Umbria, Spain, Chignin-Bergeron, Switzerland ( Chasselas) and as California finds their way with both white Rhone/Spanish ( Grenache Blanc, etc) and white Italian varietals ( Tocai Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, etc) are so very interesting and demanding of attention in my opinion.

I'm also excited to find more wines from places like Croatia, Hungary ( non Tokaj) and Uruguay finding their way to our marketplace. I had a Viognier blend from Uruguay recently that was far more interesting than 90% of the Chardonnay and S. Blanc produced in California today.

Great question, Board-O.

Closing in on the big six Oh! and considering drinking windows myself. I decided that 2009 would be my last Bordeaux vintage. Not so much concerned about not being here in 20 years, but rather not being able to appreciate them either due to aging taste buds or perhaps doctor's orders. If the boy takes an interest in wine, I may change my plan. A big part of the joy of wine collecting is the hunt and kill, not just the consumption. I may buy a few cheap 2010s because the vintage has been so hyped. Even with 2009, there was a lot under $30 that is just fine after 5-10 years. Recently bought the 2008 Pahlmeyer Red, but will likely wind things down dramatically after the 2009 California vintage, particularly since 2010 is not thought to be as stellar as 2005-2009. I'm gonna save a lot of ducats. The things I will likely continue to invest (lightly) in for the next 10 years are domestic chardonnay and pinot, white burgundies, rosso and lighter Rhones. Can't ignore Oregon pinot... I'm done buying Barolo, Brunello and probably super Tuscans, too. Got enough old world reds to drink over the next 30 years...

I too have stopped buying Bordeaux, not that I was ever huge into it.
Mostly, what Ed Bowers said.

quote:

Originally posted by RedMeat:

or perhaps doctor's orders.

When I'm 80, I will ignore the doctors orders if he/she says to stop enjoying wine.

I have zero interest in extending my life just so I might what...spend more time in a nursing home at some point?

Give me my wine!

I've definitely started buying Burgs (mostly red), and that has been my main focus lately. But my cellar is already stuffed, so the biggest trend is that I'm buying less of everything.

I have plenty of Bordeaux from vintages 2000-2008 (mostly '00, '03, '05). I'm still waiting for them to mature. My California Cab and Australian purchases have essentially halted, although I still enjoy drinking through my stockpile. I never did buy much from Germany, Spain, Italy, Port or S. America, although they all have small representations in my cellar. Likewise with California Pinot, Zin, and Washington/Oregon reds.

So in addition to the Red Burgs, I'm picking up just a few Champagnes, N. Rhones, CdP's, California Rhone Rangers, Cheap Chardonnay for everyday, and Michigan wines (red and white), just to add variety.

I'm probably going through what some others have gone through in the first few years or so that they truly jump into wine. I have really overbought and have too much inventory. So, I am at the point where I really need to scale back on purchases. That means a combination of drinking the stuff I have (even if it means it's "too early") and focusing purchases on things that I have actually enjoyed. I have yet to notice a real trend in terms of what regions, etc. I'm focusing on though. That may change in a few months once my wife can resume drinking again and voicing her opinion!

I don;t think you overbought unless you have more wine than you can drink before they begin to decline. The prices of top wines, especially Bordeaux, have been escalating so rapidly that future vintages likely will never be relatively as cheap.

I don,t buy to collect, but rather, to drink. I have been buying mostly ready to drink wines (or ready in the next few years time) to ship for an upcoming move.

I stopped buying Bordeaux for same reasons. I still have quite a few from 1982 and 2000 which should get me most of the way to the grave.

I sometimes feel I have a new buying trend every two weeks.

In general, I'm learning more and more about what I like and am purchasing based on that. This means I'm buying Brunello, Barolo, Rioja (generally of the traditional variety) and Bordeaux when it comes to reds, and Mosel/Rheinhessen, Alsace, and the occasional Burgundy when it comes to whites.

I've been picking up quite a few Bordeaux lately (2005's, 2009's, select 2008's). Not cheap, but I love the wines, and you can find relative values if you look carefully.

quote:

Originally posted by wine+art:
When I'm 80, I will ignore the doctors orders if he/she says to stop enjoying wine.

I have zero interest in extending my life just so I might what...spend more time in a nursing home at some point?

I couldn't agree more strongly. Quality over quantity applies to more than just wine buying strategies!

As for Board-O's question, as I'm approaching 50 my age is just starting to impact my buying decisions. But most of the shifts in my buying patterns have been due to previous purchases providing all that I want of a given region / varietal, or a rising desire for wines for which I previously had little experience / desire. There are only a couple of wine styles that I previously enjoyed and just completely lost interest.

Aside from champagnes, I haven't bought any French for quite a while. The better Bordeaux's were already way out of my price range when I started getting into wine, around 2000. I tried looking for some French values with Garagiste, but have given up on those as well. Don't need any more thin, sour, and weedy wines.
A few years ago I put a self-imposed price cap on my purchases of $50 a bottle. My reasoning was that a winery should be able to sell a good bottle under that price point. Not being an economist, I guess I didn't include many market factors into that equation, so it seems that even most of my beloved WA wines have topped that mark within the past couple years.
I still splurge occasionally, but I continue to look at second labels for value added purchases.

I don't buy that much these days except for drinkers mainly under $20. Only a couple of mailing lists because we just don't drink the Cali wines very often. No Bordeaux and little Burgundy. Some Champagne as you might expect (2002s) but haven't hit any of the high-end wines in a long time.

Times sure have changed.