Best wines for all occasions: A guide to starting a wine collection in your 40s

The best wines for you are the ones you love or grow to love over time. (Photo by Matthew Hintz via Pexels)

Starting your wine collection can seem confusing. Unless you have been initiated into the universe of wines, it can be something of a learning curve to know which grapes, vintage, provenance, wineries, bottles to add to your wine cooler. Good news is, if you’re looking to build a wine collection, you likely have a sense of what you like and what you don’t.

What will help you build out a collection is remembering at all times that you are collecting wines for yourself and not necessarily to impress someone else, says Nikhil Agarwal, founder of All Things Nice, a wine and spirits marketing and consulting agency. Building a portfolio of wines that aligns with your preferences ensures a more fulfilling collection.

So, for instance, if you like Chardonnay from a particular region, you could consider buying the same grape varietal from a different region. So, you’re still buying a great varietal you like but also pushing the envelope a little by trying out a different producer from a new region and getting a new experience.

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Also read: A dummies guide to the world of wines

How do I start a wine collection?

If you are relatively new to wine collecting, the idea of starting a collection can seem daunting. But Agarwal has a handy tip that will serve you well, no matter at what age you want to start your collection: “Divide your catalogue according to occasions,” he says. “At the bottom of the pyramid will be everyday wines, followed by wines to celebrate a small win, wines for when you’re entertaining, and ultimately, wines for the really special occasions.”

Here are his recommendations:

Best wines for easy drinking

These are no-fuss wines you may open on, say, a Wednesday evening. Typically, these wines tend to offer great value for money. A good Chilean or Bordeaux offering would fit perfectly in this category, Agarwal says. And because he prefers red, 80 percent of everyday wines in his collection are reds.

MontGras Day One Cabernet Sauvignon, Chile

A Chilean wine from Maipo Valley, MontGras Day One Cabernet Sauvignon is versatile enough to pair with a hearty dish or enjoy on its own. Importantly, it’s the kind of wine whose quality surpasses its price (of about Rs 2,500).

Moulin de Gassac Faune (Chardonnay and Viognier), France

The folks at Mas de Daumas Gassac and Moulin De Gassac are among the best-known producers of wine in the south of France. In the '90s they began creating approachable wines while also applying their trademark rigour. This is the kind of Sunday brunch wine that’ll set you back by about Rs 2,800 a bottle, but it’s easy-going and the kind of white wine you’d like to sip as you kick back your shoes and unwind.

Casa Bottega Prosecco, Italy

Hailing from Veneto, Italy, Casa Bottega Prosecco is a great sparkling wine featuring fruity scents, especially of green apple, pear, and citrus fruits. Soft on the palette, it is dry and refreshing.

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Best wine for occasions

Just a notch above the everyday wines, these are the kind of wines you want to open after a great day at work, maybe to celebrate a small win.

Castello Collemassari Montecucco Riserva, Italy

Collemassari is a prominent winery in Montecucco, Tuscany - known for producing top-quality wines. The region of Montalcino is where you get famed wines like Brunello di Montalcino; Montecucco is right next to it.

Collemassari Montecucco Riserva is a rare find. Accessible in price, going for about Rs 3,700 a pop, but delivering way more in quality. It may not be as well-known as Brunello but the Collemassari Riserva from Montecucco is amazing. It is just five years old (2018 vintage) and it will get better with age, says Agarwal. “It’s affordable and opens up nicely after 45 minutes of allowing the wine to breathe. In a blind tasting, the Collemassari Montecucco Riserva will outshine more expensive wines, making it perfect for days when you’re celebrating a small achievement,” he says.

Best wines for hosting and entertaining friends

These are wines that are at a similar or slightly higher price point but those that will excite your guests. “The thing to remember is that when you’re hosting, you don’t just open one kind of red or white wine,” Agarwal says, “You let the guests have the opportunity to choose. So, a few reds and a few whites should do you good when you have half a dozen people or so over. This will also help people in the room find their own preferred style of wine,” Agarwal says.

The Neil Ellis Syrah is a medium-bodied Shiraz with dark berry aromas and a soft, fleshy palate. It goes great with grilled meats, cheeses, and kebabs, making it a perfect fit for your hosting scene.

The Château Bonfort Montagne-Saint-Émilion also boasts of a well-balanced palate. Its red fruit bouquet and notes of ripe cherries make for a good pairing with chicken and red meat but also hard cheeses.

Among the whites, Agarwal recommends the Domaines Schlumberger Pinot Blanc - Les Prince Abbes, which would pair wonderfully with Indian cuisine.

Yet another recommendation by Agarwal is the Fattori Soave, made by Antonio Fattori, a third-generation winemaker from the Veneto region in Italy. Since it pairs well with veg risottos, this wine is great especially when you have your vegetarian friends over.

The Castello di Querceto 'Cignale' is a red Super Tuscan. Full-bodied and velvety on the palate, this red wine will set you back by about Rs 12,650 but will be well worth every rupee, says Agarwal.

Another option is the Alta Vista Terroir Selection Malbec. This Argentinian medium-bodied red costs around Rs 5,500 but, as Agarwal describes it, is ‘a cracker of a wine’, perfect not just for those days when you want to feel a little special but also when you’re hosting your friends but don’t want to break the bank.

Like good wine, a good wine collection can take years to perfect. (Photo by Czapp Árpád via Pexels)

Best wine for special occasions

Some occasions are once-in-a-lifetime. A landmark birthday, an anniversary, the birth of a child, promotion to that CXO job you've been wanting - you get the picture. Such occasions demand rare wines. For Nikhil Agarwal, that occasion is his 45th birthday and that wine is Château Margaux.

He could tell you that it was one of the handful of wines to achieve Grande Cru status in the Bordeaux Classification; he could tell you that it will set you back by a small fortune and can be difficult to find in India; he could also wax eloquent about its velvety palate, its texture, its red fruit aromas, and dark fruit notes. But for him, the Château Margaux is the wine that he plans to crack open on his 45th birthday.

And that’s sort of the thing about wines in this category. It should be something you really want, something you’d like to wait for to open.

While this list might be a good place for you to start, the best wines for you are the ones you love or grow to love over time. As with wine production, such a collection cannot be built overnight, it takes a few years. Sometimes, even a lifetime.