New Year’s is resolution time, which got me thinking I’d better make a couple New Year’s resolutions for our wine cellar in. addition to my personal resolutions.

There are those in our family who believe the sanest wine resolution for me would simply be “Don’t buy anymore wine.” However, even as they say this they know they don’t really mean it! Plus, in their heart of hearts, they know it would be an impossible resolution for me to keep!

So I happily move on.

After a bit of thought I’ve decided on the following 2019 Wine Resolutions for DP Wine Cellar:

1. Hone our focus even more finely for what we add to our cellar.

Our cellar’s focus is to have 85% of our cellar’s wines for holding, 15% for everyday drinkers, and to be primarily from the Napa Valley, followed by Italy, France, and Chile. We have stayed true to both these aspects of our focus, but as our holdings have grown space is an issue.

So we our resolution is to try, really, really try, to be ultra-selective in our additions in 2019. I resolve to only replace some now depleted favorites, be sure new additions are from family-owned, estate, wineries, high quality, and DtC wines. Caveat – Club/Allocation-Only wines are exempt from this 

2. Be more careful to not overage any of our cellared wines.

With 15% of our cellar being everyday drinkers, I resolve to not let any bottles overage. With this in mind it will also make my wine gift giving a bit easier over the course of the New Year. I will focus on giving some of our daily drinkers as gifts should it look as if we might not be drinking them all within a reasonable time frame.

It is close to a crime to waste wine!

3. Conduct a re-inventory of our cellar to insure its accuracy.

I use, and love, the CellarTracker software for our cellar’s inventory management, tracking, and data for insurance coverage. We try our best during the year to manage those wines leaving our cellar, new cellar dwellers, and movements within the cellar, but no one’s perfect. So we need to re-inventory periodically for our own sanity.

4. Review and reevaluate each of our wine club memberships.

We are members of many (again some family members use the alternate description ‘too many’) wine clubs. We loved each of them when we joined, but once a year we take their measure with an eye toward their future with us.

To do this we set up a spreadsheet and ask the following six questions of each:

a. Does the club’s wines still fit our focus?
b. Have we been enjoying the selections as much as we did in years past?
c. Have there been any material changes (wine maker, vineyard management, ownership, etc.) with the winery/estate?
d. Have the club’s parameters changed during the year?
e. Are they receptive to allowing order alternatives or customization?
f. Most importantly how have they managed their relationship with us?

We grade them on each question, 4 to 1. If their total falls below 17, we quit. We do it nicely, but we quit.

5. Drink more wine in 2019.

Easier done than said! Plus it is always important to have at least one resolution you know you will keep throughout the year!

I hope you each have a wonderful 2019 and while your wine resolutions may well differ from mine, PLEASE pay special attention to number five!

Cheers!