It’S A Cellar’S Market

At the start of this new century, it seemed fitting to clean out my closet.

That’s what I call my wine cellar — the space that holds dusty bottles, old LPs and a couple of pairs of skis.

The point is you don’t have to have a fancy setup to start collecting wine. You just need a place where you can lay your special finds on their side, away from direct light and heat.

So why hang on to wine, anyway?

Not long ago, winemakers didn’t release their reds without a couple of years in the bottle. And when the wine became available, there was an understanding that you would “lay it down” for a few more years before pulling the cork.

Now, it’s not unusual to see ‘98 reds on the market, made for immediate consumption. Producers seem determined to tame former powerhouse varietals such as cabernet sauvignon into something soft and lush, something you can drink tonight.

Yet many vintners still make wine for the long haul. Even a big outfit like Hogue Cellars makes its reserve wines and its ultra-premium (and truly wonderful) Genesis line to be age-worthy. That means they spend longer in oak barrels, which concentrate and intensify the flavors.

Good cellaring candidates include big Italian reds such as barolo, barbaresco and brunello di Montalcino; cabernets from California and Washington; syrah-based wines from the Rhone region of France, and Rioja from Spain. Of course, wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy top the list, if you can afford them. Whites that benefit from aging include French chablis, German rieslings, even some champagne.

Over time, subtle chemical changes make rough tannins mellow and add an earthy aroma. The texture of the wine, the way it feels in your mouth, becomes velvety.

Like any project, getting started might sound daunting. But here’s all you need to know about cellaring:

Keep the storage area cool, but not cold. In a perfect world, that would be between 53 and 59 degrees. Most importantly, the temperature should remain constant - not swinging wildly from summer heat to winter cold.

Ideally, the area should be fairly damp. Some say a minimum of 50 percent humidity is needed to keep the corks from drying out.

Purists warn about guarding wine against vibrations. In other words, don’t set your treasures on top of the fridge.

Keep them separate from your workbench, too. Delicate wine doesn’t mix well with paint thinner fumes.

Don’t store wine in cardboard cases. The chemicals used to produce the boxes could adversely affect your wine.

You know what? I’ve probably busted all those rules. I guess I’m not what you’d call a serious collector. I’m more of a let’s-drink-it-tonight kind of gal.

One thing I really like collecting, though, is large-format bottles. Magnums (the equivalent of two 750-milliliter bottles) just look so impressive when you pull them out for a party. And, supposedly, they age better.

In hindsight, since I started buying wine to keep, I do wish I would have kept a better record of when and where I purchased a bottle. There are some computer programs designed to do that.

Still, even with my casual approach to cellaring, I have tasted the benefits of age.

On New Year’s Day, I opened a bottle of 1990 Walla Walla Select from Leonetti Cellars. This blockbuster blend of cabernet, merlot and cab franc lived up to my great expectations with lots of jamlike fruit powered by a long, smooth finish.

I used to pick up one bottle of this and another bottle of that, as my budget would allow. But now, I try to buy at least two bottles of each wine, so I can check on it over the years. (Yes, I know the serious collectors buy nothing less than a case, but that’s too rich for my bank account.)

Once you start your wine cellar, you might want to take it to the next level and read “The Wine Collector’s Handbook” by Linda Johnson and Michael Broadbent (The Lyons Press, 1998) or “Collecting Wine: You and Your Cellar” by Australian wine author James Halliday (HarperCollins, Australia, 1998).

A good read

While we’re talking books, Portland-based author Heidi Yorkshire recently published a straight-shooting introduction to the sometimes intimidating business of enjoying fruit of the vine.

“Simply Wine” (Duplex Media Group, 1999) touches on the basics in a breezy, easy-to-swallow style. For instance, when covering the how-to’s of tasting wine, she writes: “Nobody is born knowing how to taste wine. We can drink wine. But tasting is a skill you learn, just as you learn to dance, play tennis or roll out a flaky pie crust.”

(I’m not sure I’ll ever master that pie crust.)

One easy exercise Yorkshire walks readers through helps identify some of those key components in wine, using a few things from your pantry. (Tea for tannin, lemon juice for acidity.)

For information on ordering the book, call (503) 335-3155.

E-wine

I had been less than impressed with the Web sites for ordering wine online until I found eVineyard.

This Portland-based company carries a broad range of producers in all price ranges. This month it has been discounting vin blanc during a “white sale.”

What I really liked about this site, though, was the offer of free shipping for orders over $25. Pretty slick.

And I appreciated the winemakers’ notes you could easily access while browsing - especially the kooky witticisms from Bonny Doon winemaker Randall Grahm.

It’s also one of the only spots I’ve found with an extensive selection of wines from Oregon, though not enough pinots for my liking. (Less than a dozen choices.)

Oregon names new to me included Kramer, Fisher Family, and Laurel Ridge, which makes an interesting blend called Zinotage - two-thirds pinot noir to one-third California zinfandel. (You bet I ordered a bottle of that to try.)

Log on at www.evineyards.com.