Instructions

1. Know your tastes. And know what you're buying for: to drink or to collect? If you plan to drink all the wines you buy, that would probably lead to a different price point than buying as an investment.

2. List wines you like, either regions or specific wineries. Or, if you're buying wines to pair with food, list cuisines that you like and find out which wines match them best. For example, Italian cuisine and the traditional Italian wines made from native grapes like Sangiovese and Nebbiolo have evolved together over millennia; they're a great match!

3. In your list, notice which wines benefit from aging and which don't. The better they age, the more space you want to dedicate to them in your cellar.

4. Consult vintage charts. Of the wines you like, which have good vintages currently on the market? If you target good vintages, you can find second- and third-tier producers who had a great year but still charge reasonable prices based on their long-term reputation. Or, you can go for the top producers' secondary labels or secondary vineyards; you get all their winemaking expertise applied to second-tier grapes at a table-friendly price point.

5. Once you've identified exceptional vintages, start researching individual producers. Go to tastings, read magazine reviews including the tasting notes, or go online. If you find your mouth is watering while you're reading tasting notes, you're on to something.

6. Know your reviewers' tastes. For example, Robert Parker has a reputation for loving "fruit bombs," wines in which fruit rather than terroir or other flavor components dominate.

7. If you're a person who likes variety, consider buying no more than four bottles of any given wine unless it's one you like.

8. Strike a balance: Know when to pounce on a particularly good wine (they go fast!), but bide your time waiting for those fantastic finds.

9. When you find the right wine, go for it! If you're buying from a distant source, ask them to store it for you so you can fill a case and ship during cool weather.

10. When you receive the wine, tag it before putting it in your cellar. On the tag, include at least the wine's name, vintage, and drink dates (like "best from 2014 to 2024"). We also include where we bought it, price, scores, magazine issues in which it was reviewed, number of bottles we bought, total amount produced, and tasting notes.

11. Put wines that need long aging on the top of the cellar, and wines that are ready to drink on the bottom. Your cellar is likely to be warmer at the top than the bottom, so this promotes the best rates of aging.