What mistakes did you make when you first started collecting wine -- i.e. change in tastes, storage, spending too much money chasing cults or first growths, not buying more of a wine when you had a chance?

For me it was chasing the reds and not putting down enough dessert wines which I've really come to enjoy and wish I had more of.

Letting the wife see the Amex bill.

"...soon they'll be bleary eyed under a keg of wine, Down where the drunkards roll." Richard Thompson.

That's a mistake I only made once.

Buying based on points.
Building verticals.
Too many cases, not enough threes and fours.
Too much cab, too little rhone.
Starting too late in life.

Opening a good bottle and drinking it before I learned enough to appreciate the nuances and complexities the bottle had to offer. Live and learn!

Buying according to WS and Parker ratings is another mistake I made early on, rather than buying great wines that go well with food.

Listening too much to critics.

1. Listening to Rober Parker and his ratings.
2. Becoming an engineer. (I should have studied business so I can earn more $$$ to buy 'great' wines).

Buying almost exclusively single bottles, then laying them down for a few years. This leads to a damned-if-you-do damned-if-you-don't scenario. If the wine is great, you probably can't find it in the marketplace anymore, at least not for the same price. If you don't like it, you've wasted time and cellar space, and possibly waited to long to drink it.

Any wine that I plan to lay down now, I try to taste first, and then buy in bunches of at least three.

Oh, I'll also add that I didn't buy nearly enough whites and sparklers to lay down.

I'm a little confused about the professional ratings. If I'm going to spend $40 to $100 for a single bottle of wine, with say a 92 rating, I'm a bit more assured with my purchase if someone has taken the time to taste it and rate it. Otherwise, I feel I could make to too many costly mistakes. On the other hand, I have a few merchants I have grown to trust on the good wines that have not yet been rated.

I guess when I learn more, I'll be able to make my decisions on factors other than ratings, but for now, that's all 'I' really have to go on.

another mistake I made early was ignoring certain regions -- having almost no experience with them -- only to play catch up when a great vintage arrives. The 2001 Germans are a good example.

Biggest mistake was buying a small cellar.
Buying too many wines on impulse.

I agree with Villa Aldige, If I am new at collecting,how should I decide what to buy? especially on wines like barolo's which won't mature for a while? I read the TN along with the rating # and try to pick the qualities I like (or think I like). while I realize this is only one person's opinion, so is the opinion of the guy at my local wine shop.

Getting sucked into posting on the MTH board.

Oh yeah -- and I also taught my wife the nuances of wine. She used to drink jug chablis with ice cubes -- now our good stuff seems to disappear twice as fast.

Semper ubi sub ubi!

Buying wine and aging it that shouldn't be aged. Specifically Riojas. Back in the late 80s I bought a case of a Rioja that I really liked. By the time I got to the last bottle it was well over the hill.

Not studying French in high school. If I had, I might be able to decipher some of these labels.

"In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women!" --Homer Simpson

Joining this and other wine forums. Damn you guys for making me spend way too much money!

Seriously though, I can honestly say I haven't made any drastic mistakes since I started this hobby a couple years ago. 230 bottles and counting ... going to need a new cabinet soon!

Buying Grand Cru burgundies (loads of them) from vintages receiving great initial acclaim, only to find the vintages turned out to be mediocre.


Just one more sip.

Buying in two's rather than three's. Now I stare at one or two remainimg bottles and wish I had one or two more. Also, finding an interesting wine at a good price/value and then not trying it fast enough to buy a bunch more......

DBW

biggest mistake - not asking my parents for mixed cases of Bordeaux futures for my birthdays untill i was 30. shiny bikes and hockey sticks were great, but discovering healthy stash of mature wines in mid thirties would have been quite exciting.

Free Martha!

Not starting until my mid-30's

dooohhh

buying two instead of three. Now I have come to the understanding that three is indeed the magic number. If I have guests over for supper, two bottles will usually do for the dinner. Apero's and dessert wines aside. This leaves me with that one extra bottle to enjoy with the Mrs. or enjoy when she is out with the girls. If I drink all three without sharing, so be it. The protection is there and normally is put to use. Two with friends, one for the family.
Three can also span the lifeline of the bottle itself. If a bottle is recommended age-worthy for 10-12 years for example, and 3 is all I have, I space accordingly. One in 2008, 2012, 2016. Appreciation with age, or bitterness as the case may be sometimes. Same for people I guess.

Buying too much Cab and not enough Pinot and Riesling. Cab is great for wine afficiandos, but Pinots and Rieslings are great with food and appreciated by even the novice.

Aging "drink now" type wines.
Not going to enough tastings.
Getting into this hobby in the first place.

**********
When will I learn?
The answers to life's problems aren't at
the bottom of a bottle! They're on TV!
- Homer Simpson