Keys to the Cellar: Strategies and Secrets of Wine Collecting

Seasoned wine critic and Wine Spectator auction correspondent Meltzer unlocks the secrets and strategies of wine collecting, teaching readers how to create a cellar to fit one's lifestyle, store wine, and buy and sell at auctions and on the web. The book's references include lists of the top auction houses and auction records, as well as a glossary of wine collecting terms which will help beginners ease into the world of wine collecting. Fervent aficionados will enjoy trivia ranging from the winemaking's origins in Turkey, Persia and China, to noteworthy record-breaking auction sales, including Christie's $11 million Grands Crus, at which a jeroboam (an oversized bottle) of Mouton-Rothschild 1945 was sold for $114,614. Readers will feel armed with the proper expertise to take part in bidding at auctions, find wines online, store collections properly and enjoy prized labels with kindred palates. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
      
         
       
       One can find many books on building the perfect wine cellar, but guidance for the budding wine collector on how to fill that cellar is scarce. Meltzer, a Wine Spectator columnist and contributing editor to Food Arts, offers expert and accessible advice on how to develop an enjoyable collection. Meltzer suggests several strategies for collecting wine, focusing on either immediate consumption, taste, investing, or a balance of all three. Plans, budgets, suggested wines, and number of bottles to hold for all four scenarios provide the foundation for starter collections. Wine storage requirements and options are included; chapters are dedicated to locating desired wine, either on the web or at auction. Novices will appreciate the instructions on determining a wine's value and how to stick to and stretch a budget. Wine and vintages are referred to with no description, so readers are assumed to have some familiarity with the topic. For truly avid collectors, Meltzer discusses wine-related accessories, such as stemware and corkscrews; he has good tips on what's available and what's desirable. Helpful appendixes include a glossary of wine-collecting terminology and a forthcoming directory of auctions. Recommended for public libraries. —Kimberly Bartosz, Univ. of Wisconsin at Parkside Lib., Kenosha ( Library Journal , October 15, 2006)