In an effort to better understand collecting and investing in wine, I recently picked up, Keys to the Cellar: Strategies and Secrets of Wine Collecting by Peter D. Meltzer. Peter also writes the auction column for the Wine Spectator.

This book is an easy and fast read. It has some good basic pointers to help someone who is first starting to develop a wine collection. It breaks down wine cellars into four different types, the balanced cellar, the instant gratification cellar, the tasting cellar and the investment cellar. Between these four strategies, he helps develop a basic cellar for each type of collector.

His chapter on developing a relationship with a retailer is thought provoking. I personally feel there are very few retailers in the country that would be able to assist an investing collector. And even if the cellar falls into one of the other three categories, I think most retailers would rather push current stock items on a purchaser than actually find interesting wines that fit the bill. I do strongly encourage all wine buyers to develop a relationship with a retailer they like and the retailer understands what type of wines you enjoy. But that should be the subject of another post.

What I found the most useful portion of the book is the auction tips and he reinforced my assumption of if you are investing in wine expecting to get a financial return, than you are best off sticking with the blue chip wines. Blue chip wines being premier grand cru Bordueax, grand cru Burgundy, cult Spanish, Italian and California wines. The other wines would be more for personal consumption.