STOCKING THE CELLAR
While the contents of a wine cellar will naturally reflect the tastes of the owner, most cellars tend to contain wines from the major wine making regions of the world such as France, Italy, California and Australia. Charles “Bear” Dalton, wine manager for Spec's Liquors, offers collectors some practical guidelines for choosing wines. Bear explains that the majority of wines produced today are designed to be consumed while still young, "Most wine has had enough aging by the time it's released,” then adds, “only around four percent of wine is age-able." Age-able wine will hold up in the bottle for two-to-five years. Of these wines only a small percent are age worthy, that is, they will actually improve over the decades.

How do you know which wines to buy? According to Bear, “You need a wine that has good fruit, balance and good acidity to benefit from extended cellaring. You should also look for a winery that has a track record of consistent vintages.” Bear concludes that the best wines for cellaring are the red Bordeaux's, followed by red Burgundies, and some Syrah-Grenache-Mourvedre-based wines. White wines include Chardonnay from Burgundy (and a few from the US and Australia), white Bordeaux's and dry white Loire wines.

WHEN YOU CAN'T BUILD
For those who are` unable to build their own wine cellar other options are available. Wine cabinets, equipped with temperature and humidity controls are available in a variety of styles and range in size from 200-1200 bottles. Prices start at around $2,000. As Mike Stanton explained, “With access to all the major wine cabinet manufacturers, Galt Wine Cellars serves as a broker for our clients. We can also provide custom cabinets from our shops in Houston.” A second alternative to a wine cellar is off-site storage, a relatively new phenomenon in the Houston area. Companies such as Amazing Spaces and Private Mini Storage offer storage lockers ranging in size from 4-to-144 case capacities. Prices range from around $10 a month for a four-case locker to around $200 a month for the largest lockers

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