What's your cellar profile?

Happy Friday! Concluding the first week of the new Cellar Stories letter, and I’m just thrilled! Can you feel it? Me too :-)

I’ve already tasked you with opening some nice wine this weekend so I won’t cover that again today. Hopefully you’ve got something special set aside.

Instead it’s time to get clear about our wine selves. Something that takes a little work and fair amount of honesty.

So maybe stroll over to the fridge / cabinet / cellar and take a look. Pull out a few bottles and read the back labels. Take a stroll down memory lane, and ask yourself …

“What do the contents of my cellar say about me? And how do I plan to enjoy them?”

Are you a:

• Bordeaux bro - long on vintages with decades of aging potential and a gap in drink-now wines.

• Shopportunist - a variety of wines scored at low prices, but no consistent theme.

• Constant clubber - deep collections of a few wineries you’ve been a member of for years.

• Pinotphile - Pinot noir. All day. Everyday. Seriously.

• Local loco - a collection of all things Napa, Sonoma, or wherever you happen to live.

• Grapetrotter - globetrotting buyer with worldly taste.

• Did I miss yours?

Whatever you happen to be, or a combination thereof, knowing your cellar profile makes a huge difference in how you shop for, save, and enjoy wine.

A few pieces of advise for knowing and enjoying your cellar:

• Take stock. Get your collection into one place.

• Go digital. A digital view - via spreadsheet or wine app - will help you identify and sort your collection.

• Don’t stress. Know that filling your cellar was the hard part. Enjoying it is the easy part.

• Be honest. Most bottles over 10 years (yes there are exceptions) are nearing or finishing their peak drinking window. Great!

• Follow advice. If your vintage charts or wine club updates or that new wine app are telling you to opening something, use it as an excuse to pull some corks.

This weekend is a great time to explore your collection and understand your cellar profile.

Knowing who you are as a collector and what you have in stock are relatively straightforward ways to start opening those stubborn bottles that never seem to get your attention at the right time.

So, what’s your cellar profile? I won’t judge.