Summary of the podcast "Collecting wine properly"
Collecting wine made easy
trinkreif x Wine Wallet: In the latest Probeschluck episode, host Raphael Barbi talks to Clemens Riedl (trinkreif) about mature wines, storage and collecting with a plan. The occasion is our new collaboration - for all those who love mature wines and want to build up for the future in parallel.
Why ready-to-drink wines & professional storage go together
trinkreif started ten years ago with a clear mission: the love of mature wines - initially through the purchase of private cellars and the secondary market, today increasingly directly from winegrowers with their own maturation.
The aim: to make reliably mature quality wines accessible.
This is exactly where Wine Wallet comes in: if you want to collect, you need infrastructure such as constant conditions, flexibility in the delivery of wines and, above all, no space problems at home. Professional storage facilities like Wine Wallet let take these hurdles off your hands so that you can buy young wines and let them mature in peace.
"Ready to drink" is not a date - it's a window
Tastes are different: some like to drink Riesling slightly matured, Burgundy prefers younger. A wine with great ageing potential can also be drunk young if it tastes good. "Drinking maturity" is therefore a window, not a fixed point. The enjoyment of a mature wine depends on style, vintage, storage and personal preference. However, once you have immersed yourself in the world of complexity of a mature wine, you will rarely return.
What happens in the bottle: from primary to tertiary
Over time, primary aromas (fruit) recede; secondary and tertiary notes (e.g. tobacco, leather, forest floor, caramel, chocolate) gain ground. The phenolic/tannins become more integrated, the wine appears more balanced - more calm, more depth.
Market, patience & timing
Icons are often emptied too early! Clemens Riedl gave the example of a famous Steiermark in the podcast. The wine was praised to the skies years ago, so that it was never able to reach its full maturity potential. It is precisely then that a few remaining bottles rise on the secondary market. Patience pays off - emotionally and economically.
This is how you build a collection with a system:
- Think in 12 (not 6):
If you want to understand development, open individual bottles over the years and get to know the wine. Twelve offer enough "samples" without decimating the stock too quickly. - Compare young vs. matured:
Try the same wine at both stages - this is the only way to really understand what maturity brings. - Not every wine wants to mature:
Great wines with a strong terroir benefit the most. Mediocrity rarely becomes great through time. Or as the saying goes: A great wine is also recognizable when it is young. - Wine refrigerator:
A wine refrigerator is an ideal solution for short-term collections. These appliances offer optimal conditions, but are more expensive and require more space. However, they are not suitable for longer-term storage. (technically and financially speaking). - Learn by opening:
Schedule opening dates (e.g. every 24-36 months) and keep notes - your personal "wine biography".
Conclusion
Collecting means thinking ahead - with the right storage, measured curiosity and wines that have substance. In this way, every bottle becomes a stage on the way to drinking maturity and your cellar becomes a place for great moments.
That was also the core of the conversation with trinkreif: "Collecting" here means order, patience and timing, not hoarding.
Source: Conversation "Collecting wine & ready-to-drink wines" from the Probeschluck podcast with Raphael Barbi and Clemens Riedl (trinkreif).
