Dave's right we don't have a waiting list in the classic sense. I try and get everyone who signs up an offer to try at least something. Some of our wines are allocated and it may take sometime on our list to get an offer for those wines.

Reading through this thread I have some 'insider' advice.

2006 and 2007 were boom vintages. Yields were up and times were good. Lots of wineries either had more estate fruit they kept, or contracted for more grapes to supply surging demand. There is a lot of 2006 and 2007 in cellars and warehouses, that's what's getting to market now. And as everyone here knows, demand has tanked and waiting lists have opened up.

My advice is jump on now if you can. Not as an investment, I don't think 'flipping' wine will every be as profitable as it once was if at all, but for wines you've really wanted to try and drink. It's a buyers market now and a drinkers market. Get on lists for wines you want to drink.

The reason I say this is the market is coming back into balance and unlike past supply gluts, it's going to come back pretty fast. The main reason is that in 2008 yields were way down, especially at the premium level. We made 60% less wine than we planned on and I know others had cuts of 20-60%.

In normal times wineries would have picked up the slack in 2009, but all indications I have are that many wineries have kept production at 2008 levels or even lower! If you wait now on wines you want, and pass on the 06's and 07's there probably just won't be an offer coming your way for 08's and 09's.

Personally I bought stronger for wines I'm new on the list for (Betz, Karl Lawrence) to move up for 2008 and 2009. For lists I've been on a long time, I cut back some, but stayed active so I'll get 2008 and 2009 offers (Copain, Loring, Lagier Meredith, ect.) Most of my purchases are under $50 a bottle, so they are 'drinkers' not 'trophies'. Wines over $100 a bottle may be a different story, but I just don't buy those.

As a wine drinker too young to make the lists during the boom/hype period of a couple years ago I now have to ask why I should even worry about lists at all? Perhaps if the industry booms again I'll be sorry I didn't pick up more lists, but for now I get more good offers on good wine than I can possibly buy. It's just hard to commit to the price, even for those that interest me, when I know I may find them at retail for less in a month.

If there's a wine you really like, sign up for the list. Wineries love direct customers for lots of reasons; No middleman is one, direct contact with the customer is another. Even if you end up buying at retail it's always good to know what the next release will be.

The days of flippable wines like Screagle, Scarecrow, Kosta Browne etc aren't dead and gone, but there may not be the market there once was.

One other reason to get on a small winery's mailing list (if you like the wines):

It is getting tougher and tougher for small wineries to get distributor representation (and even when they are represented in a market, it's harder to make a splash) so even if they are theoretically available retail, the wines can sometimes be very difficult to find. The days of hostage mailing lists though, in my opinion, are virtually over. It's just not a sustainable model.

Sleepyhouse, honestly my advice for a new wine drinker would be don't bother with lists. You should be exploring and finding what you really like to drink. I think lists are for people who have figured out the things they really like and want to secure them.

Even hard to get wines you can usually get to try at tastings, off lines or restaurants, and that's a cheaper commitment than what many lists want to try wines. I know for us we've got a $60 + shipping entry point to try us out, but most wineries minimums are higher. That's why I like wines like Copain and Lagier Meredith, you can at least try the wines for under $150 total commitment for 3 wines.

Sleepyhouse, there's a ton of excellent advice in this thread. My two cents: keep an eye out for up-and-comers and get on lists of wineries that you think might interest you. Besides, like Paul said, pursue what you know you like but keep in mind that your tastes and preferences will change over time too. So jump in, stay within your budget, and keep an open mind. I got on the Kosta Browne list one offering after the cut-off for the "list of designates" (i.e. preferred customers) and was very disappointed about it at the time but I've since dropped KB because my tastes have changed. I'm seeing more wines at retail stores that were rarely seen there before and there are always auctions. What wines do you like and what are you interesting in exploring- varietals, regions? I started out by joining about thirty lists and trying out a little of everything to get a frame of reference and narrow down what I liked in wine. I'm now down to only: Carlisle, Kutch, Saxum, Rhys, Anthill Farms, Keplinger, Match, and Stefania; and I've been waiting for my first Cayuse offer for a few years now. But I wouldn't be surprised to see myself into more old world stuff one day. Who knows? The personal evolution of this hobby is what makes it so much fun.

quote:

Originally posted by Roland Capers:
Sleepyhouse, there's a ton of excellent advice in this thread. My two cents: keep an eye out for up-and-comers and get on lists of wineries that you think might interest you. Besides, like Paul said, pursue what you know you like but keep in mind that your tastes and preferences will change over time too. So jump in, stay within your budget, and keep an open mind. I got on the Kosta Browne list one offering after the cut-off for the "list of designates" (i.e. preferred customers) and was very disappointed about it at the time but I've since dropped KB because my tastes have changed. I'm seeing more wines at retail stores that were rarely seen there before and there are always auctions. What wines do you like and what are you interesting in exploring- varietals, regions? I started out by joining about thirty lists and trying out a little of everything to get a frame of reference and narrow down what I liked in wine. I'm now down to only: Carlisle, Kutch, Saxum, Rhys, Anthill Farms, Keplinger, Match, and Stefania; and I've been waiting for my first Cayuse offer for a few years now. But I wouldn't be surprised to see myself into more old world stuff one day. Who knows? The personal evolution of this hobby is what makes it so much fun.

Roland,

You should have gotten an offer from Cayuse by now for at least 1 of their wines. Contact the winery.

Kutch
Maybach

quote:

Originally posted by JPBone:

quote:

Originally posted by Roland Capers:
Sleepyhouse, there's a ton of excellent advice in this thread. My two cents: keep an eye out for up-and-comers and get on lists of wineries that you think might interest you. Besides, like Paul said, pursue what you know you like but keep in mind that your tastes and preferences will change over time too. So jump in, stay within your budget, and keep an open mind. I got on the Kosta Browne list one offering after the cut-off for the "list of designates" (i.e. preferred customers) and was very disappointed about it at the time but I've since dropped KB because my tastes have changed. I'm seeing more wines at retail stores that were rarely seen there before and there are always auctions. What wines do you like and what are you interesting in exploring- varietals, regions? I started out by joining about thirty lists and trying out a little of everything to get a frame of reference and narrow down what I liked in wine. I'm now down to only: Carlisle, Kutch, Saxum, Rhys, Anthill Farms, Keplinger, Match, and Stefania; and I've been waiting for my first Cayuse offer for a few years now. But I wouldn't be surprised to see myself into more old world stuff one day. Who knows? The personal evolution of this hobby is what makes it so much fun.

Roland,

You should have gotten an offer from Cayuse by now for at least 1 of their wines. Contact the winery.

Curious as to what you know. I've been on the wait list for a few years myself and haven't heard a peep aside from the annual "thanks for waiting" email.

closed circuit to paul from stefania...
when you sign up for your mailing list, you never really get any type of email confirmation or anything to let you know the process was successful.

I've either been on or had the opportunity to be on almost all the "cult" wine lists with the exception of some of the latest "flavor of the month" cults.

I'm only on a few lists presently but the one list spot I covet is Marcassin.