Building up the basics of the stock of wine at home

Press, 20 April 1979, Page 18

Building up the basics of the stock of wine at home

By

MAURICE HUNTER

Assuming that we have suitable storage for our wines, we must decide on the contents. And this, you say, is the crunch. It L all very well for this bloke Hunter to talk airily about building racks which sound as thougn they will hold dozens, but he is not paying for the stuff. How much? Would you believe $42? A simple basic stock to cushion you against the traumatic experience of being caught out consists of 15 bottles which may be bought, according to your brand preference, for an average of about $2.75. First, the aperitifs. You will need one bottle each of dry, medium and sweet sherry. I have also allowed for one bottle of aianco vermouth. This is a medium which, as well as being acceptable to both sweet and dry drinkers, can also be used as the base of some very palatable cocktails. Then follow three medium white table wines, such as Montana Blenheimer or Benmorven, Corbans Liebestraum, Villa Maria Brookvale Riesling — there is a wide choice in this range.

One or two dry whites are necessary. Montana Marlborough Riesling, Corbans Riesling Sylvaner,

Corbans Chasselas or Mission Hock. Or perhaps a couple of medium dry. such as Vidals Mt Erin Riesling or Wohnsiedler Riesling.

I have allowed for one medium red, Ormond Oakleigh Burgundy, for instance, or Corbans Veluto Rosso or Villa Reoja. It is not everyone who likes the astrigent, tannic finish of a completely dry red and, depending on the menu, a soft finish red may be more preferable. For a basic stock, one dry red should be sufficient. Of the higher priced lines, Montana Cajernet Sauvignon is the most suitable for immediate drinking. In the more economical bracket Corbans Claret. Corbans Burgundy or Villa Maria Hobson Red would be good, full bodied wines to have on hand. Suitable light bodied reds would be Montana Pinotage, Chateau Yelas Pinotage or Mission Claret. There is also a rose in the collection. Rose is a bit of an orphan these days but it is as well to provide for a luncheon wine. It may also be used to accompany a light evening meal or maybe to dp while watching the box.

Sutton Baron Rose is the best one I know and Pleasant Valley Vin Rose, in spite of its unattractive label, is worthy of notice. No one appears to take much notice but I shall keep on plugging for sauterne to be used in the way in which it was intended, as a dessert wine. The prevailing custom appears to be to concentrate all thought on selecting the correct main course wine and to forget

about dessert. A well chilled sauterne, especially A’ith a fruit dessert, is uvlightful. So we add Corbans Montel or Mission Estella to our stock.

To complete your basic cellar, I have allowed for one bottle of vintage port and one of liqueur. There are ma~y good ports available, in the choice of which you should consult your supplier. Liqueurs are a different cup of tea. so to speak. Apart from coffee flavours, which are generally well treated by local pro-

ducers, our liqueurs are a pretty uninteresting bunch. Perhaps you had better either allow a little over the $42 budget for an imported one, or allow a little less and make do with the port. Recommendations for long term storage are a little more difficult owing to fluctuations from vintage to vintage- The best advice I can offer is to consult your supplier and buy one bottle of his recommendation. If it is the type of wine you like, chen buy some in ror ageing. Broadly speaking, go for

varietal wines, that is. wines which are named according to the grapes from which they are made, such as Riesling ayivaner, Chasselas, nuv. Gris, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinotage, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

Avoid any wine which is simply termed Dry White or Dry Red for ageing, although Private Bin wines which do not carry a varietal indication should be quite safe for a year or so. Private Bin means that it is a wine of limited quantity which the maker considers to be an especially good one of its type.

Owing to the quality of the juice and to the extra care which has gone into the handling, it may be expected to have a longer life than a standard wine.

Like anything else which one considers to be worth while, building up cellar stocks requires a certain degree of application and,' in some cases, will power. Like the inveterate cigarette smoker, with a liking for the good things in life, who decided to kick the habit and put aside the money which he would have spent on cigarettes for the purchase of wine.

His most recent expenditure was $BO, bringing his cellar stock of bronze and silver award wines up to about 150 bottles. Little did I imagine, when changing his napkins all those years ago, that he would be capable of such fortitude. But, whether you are a 30-a-day man or not, a slower but effective way is to budget for an extra bottle or so for the cellar every time you make a purchase for current

drinking. It is virtually painless and there is a tremendous amount of pleasure to be gained in seeing the stock increasing week by week.

You must, however, be resolute in keeping to your programme. Many a good man has fallen by the wayside and has been tempted into opening some of his precious ageing bottles because there was nothing else to hand. Finally, the cellar book. Every seif respecting cellar should have one. Memory is a fickle jade and your book will save yqu and your supplier from the mental acrobatics of trying to remember the name of the delightful wine which you bought six months ago and which was a dry white from Montana and was “M’‘ something.

It usually turns out to be something like Nobilo Muller Thurgau. It is not dry white, and it is not Montana, but it does have an “M” doesn’t it? A cellar book, like a cellar, sounds impressive but it does not have to be. All you need is a common or garden exercise book. Rule it into columns to provide for the name' of the wine, the year of vintage, and producer, the date of purchase, the price and ample room for comments.

But there is more to it than just that. No man drinks his best wines alone, and a well kept cellar book will enable you to recall pleasant memories of the good wines you have drunk and the friends with whom ypu have shared them. L So choose your location, adjust your budget, smd make a start — today.