Wine

Why we covet: A personal dance with time and taste

I’m forever fascinated by what people collect and covet. I have, as I’m sure everyone does, friends that collect and obsess over things that I myself loosely put into the category of ‘stuff’: cars, bikes, guitars, boats, art… the list goes on.

I know classing someone’s passionate focus as mere ‘stuff’ is reductive, of course, but it’s not intentional. Collecting, using and enjoying something represents life itself to certain degree; it can be a deep connection and an accumulation of knowledge, experience and – sometimes – sacrifice.

I respect that these interactions bring much needed joy and comfort, reflecting our inners selfand offering the opportunity to commune and positively interact with like-minded folk. I get it. Nonetheless, I still put wine in a different category altogether to other ‘stuff’.

Evaluating Evolution and Elevation

Why is that you may ask? Well, it’s the why that provides the permission for wine’sdistinction over other collectables. Consider: from the moment a wine is put into a bottle the clock starts ticking, its components dependent on a fragile balance to evolve like its maker intended.  

Through the winemaker’s craft, it has become what Geppetto could never accomplish on his own – a living thing, developing in accordance with the design of its creator. Evolving, deepening, complexifying, becoming something more than the sum of its parts. It evokes, excites anticipation. It becomes in many ways a vessel of memory, magic and storytelling, through taste and aroma.

These most acutely honed and intertwined senses are linked to pleasure – and when you get to experience a wine evolve gracefully over time, bottle by bottle, decade by decade, you get to bear witness to a unique evolution of grape, nature and man. Once you have experienced this magical collision, it’s hard to go back.

You become drawn to the allure of what lies ahead – a future where your carefully chosen bottles transform and develop complexities that really are hard to articulate, let alone explain. It is a slow, accumulating anticipation that goes beyond the romance of it all, to eventually become a tale about how time interacts with what lies inside the bottle.

Over time, a wine's tannins soften, flavours meld, and new layers of complexity emerge. There are some white varietals which, made well, can age beautifully, but red wines are built to last in ways that most whites are not: primary fruit flavours, which dominate in youth, evolve into secondary and tertiary flavours such leather, spice, or earthiness.

In essence, collectors savour the opportunity to witness – and, eventually, taste – the transformation of wine as it reaches its peak, and passes beyond what its maker is incapable of foreseeing. Anticipating the arrival of that peak, and timing the opening of the wine to enjoy it at its absolute best with a certain person or for a special occasion, is itself part of the appeal of collecting.

The Essentials of A Stable Environment

For wine to evolve slowly requires multiple layers of balance to work together. Without this,it’s all over much quicker than intended.  To begin, you need balance in the wine – once it’s bottled, balance isn’t something you can just put in. It’s the mark of a great winemaker, striking balance.

If a youthful wine is not in harmony, time will only amplify its shortcomings. But a well-made wine is only the beginning: to let it evolve towards its fullest potential, it requires an environment that offers a stable, continuous balance of temperature, humidity, and light. Any imbalance between these fragile elements represents the greatest threat.

In Australia especially, seasonal fluctuations in temperature can range from freezing winters to sweltering summers. Storing wine in such conditions becomes a serious consideration. The fragile balance required to maintain a wine’s integrity and allow it to evolve over time makes a proper storage facility – like a dedicated wine cabinet – a necessity rather than a luxury.

Take Liebherr – makers of some of the most highly regarded wine refrigerators in the world. Temperature controlled, for true environmental stability. Zero humidity, for the preservation of bottle labels. Secure from unpredictable vibrations within the confines of a stylish cabinet, the wine is able to rest and evolve easefully along its natural path.

Given the communal possibilities a great bottle of wine opens up, the ability to slide out the telescopic rails that are standard on Liebherr cabinets also adds a nice touch drama to its ease of use: after all, both the tangible and intangible value of any collectible is enhanced when appropriately showcased in a way that preserves and protects it.

How Time Yields Treasures

Adding to wine’s singularity as a collector is the possibility that, over time, expectations and possibilities are exceeded. Everyone that buys that special bottle, whether it be expensive or not, are connected to the possibility that the bottle that has patiently aged for a period could reveal an unexpected brilliance. When opened, it may offer a drinking experience unmatched in its youth, delivering a singular experience, nuanced and transformative.  The experience becomes a reward, personal and intimate.

There are greater dimensions as well. Wine collecting is not purely about the wine itself, but also about the memories it holds. Each bottle in a collection tells a story, whether it’s from a personal milestone – a wedding, a birth, a significant anniversary – or a journey through a famed wine region like Burgundy, Tuscany, or Barossa Valley. For collectors, drinking an aged wine can be akin to reliving a cherished moment. The emotional value a bottle acquires over time often surpasses its financial worth.

Because at its core, wine collecting is about more than just acquisition or flex. It’s an appreciation of the delicate balance between nature, science, and artistry – a tale of time and taste. Collectors must be patient, trusting that time will enhance the wine’s character, while also being vigilant in ensuring that their investments are protected.

This means that, where conditions are not always conducive to ageing wine, collectors are required to embrace technology and innovation in how they store their wines. That’s why there’s a Liebherr cabinet in the foyer of the Selector building: because we take our wine seriously.

The reason is simple. As with anything  transcendent in nature, the benefits of a well-aged, well-kept wine are often incalculable, inexpressible. The one certainty? Ensuring you provide your wines the best possible environment to unfold in, the better the likelihood that your treasures will reward you in kind.