I started a wine cellar last year when I bought my first house. At the time, it seemed like a better way to spend my money than income trusts. It’s hedonistic in a way that even a hedge fund can’t beat, but it’s not instant gratification either — bottles in the dark mature about as quickly as a Canada Savings Bond. As I tell my girlfriend (when I spend her money on wine), it’s like any other prudent investment, but delicious.
This is what the Short Cellar is all about. In each column, I will be offering some advice about the joy of aging wine as I build my own cellar from the ground up, detailing what is going in, when it comes out, and what happened to it along the way. My emphasis will be on wines that are easily available in Ontario and that only take a year or two before developing into something special. Who has time to wait 10 years? I’m patient, but not a saint.
There’s a perception that having a wine cellar implies expertise or money. This is a myth. You’re never too young, dumb, or soaked in debt to want a better bottle of wine. It’s true that a cellar takes some foresight and knowledge, but only enough to guess what you are going to have for dinner three years from now, and the knowledge that you’ll want something extraordinary to wash it down. You can spend any amount that you wish on wine, but the sweet spot is between $15 and $25. At that level, there are some exceptional wines that will mature marvellously, but there’s no guilt in drinking them at any time since, litre for litre, they are still cheaper than a latte.
A cellar is not without its heartaches, but the payoff is something that money can’t buy: when you age your own wine, it’s no longer just a commodity grabbed from a shelf. Time, anticipation, and unpredictability transform it into something unique and momentary. The first wine I ever aged was stored lovingly underneath my futon in the insulating cradle of a giant dust bunny. I saved it throughout law school and opened it after I bombed my first solo trial. I don’t know if the wine was actually that good, but my sense of excitement and discovery in uncorking it was like unearthing a lost love letter. It was at that moment that I decided that cellaring wine was too much fun to save for only spectacular, career-endangering failures. I could enjoy myself like this every week. A cellar was born.
Next Issue
You don’t need an official cellar to store your wine. A closet, chest of drawers, or under the bed is good too. The next edition of the Short Cellar will be your guide to building a cellar that fits your space and your budget.
Matthew Sullivan is a lawyer with the Department of Justice in Toronto. He can be reached at matthew@lawandstyle.beta-site.ca.
Two great wines to put away
Arboleda, 2003
Cabernet Sauvignon (Chile)
LCBO #606764, $17.95 (Vintages)
Arboleda makes a stand-out Cab that ages beautifully and exemplifies how much can happen after just a year. The 2003 vintage is a little eccentric now, with a strangely pleasing combination of ripe lychee fruit and a cheap rose-scented perfume that my grandmother used to daub on her wattle. Cellaring this bottle will show how less can be more: the fruity flavour will recede and the wine will become subtler, more elusive, and a little haunting.
Liberty School, 2004
Cabernet Sauvignon (California)
LCBO #738823, $17.95 (Vintages Essentials)
I accidentally drank a whole bottle of this while firing up my BBQ. It’s like sleeping with your sister’s best friend: it feels really good but you know something isn’t quite right. It’s luscious in the mouth, but a year or two in the cellar will keep it from coming on too strong.
Side-sidebar
When shopping at the LCBO’s Vintages outlets, look on the wine’s price card for a graphic of a bottle lying flat (age for a few years), at an angle (this wine will benefit from some short cellaring, but can be drunk now), or standing straight (start your engines). However, personal tastes and experimentation are always the best guides.