Stocking the Urban Wine Cellar

It's all very well to pick up a wine or two on the way home from the office, but to fully appreciate the varied pleasures of the grape, you need a rack or a cellar filled with bottles that range from good to fabulous. Wine is one of the few commodities that hasn't been standardized—there are hundreds to choose from—and that, alone, is a reason to celebrate. There are times when you don't want the subtlety of a great wine but prefer the simple pleasure of a Valdepenas, the roughness of a Rhone. the lightness of a Bardolino. These and other inexpensive wines should be bought in mixed-case lots, so that you can broaden your tasting experience by sampling a variety of vintages while saving room in your cellar for more costly bottlings that require proper aging—good red Burgundy and Bordeaux, for example, which appear on the market three years after the harvest.

Storace

If you're an apartment dweller, you can store your wines in their wooden or cardboard cases, preferably at the back of a cool closet. The cases help insulate the bottles from vibrations, light and sudden temperature changes, the three conditions that can cause a wine to age prematurely or even spoil. Better yet, buy a ready made rack or have a carpenter construct a shelving unit fitted with vertical dividers to make bins a foot square. Each bin should hold about 12 bottles stored on their sides, so that the corks won't dry out and let air in, thus spoiling the wines. After you drink the first bottle of a specific lot, soak off the label and tack it to the bin for quick identification

Ideal storage calls for a cellar where the temperature is a constant 50 to 55 degrees,not an easy feat in an urban high-rise unless you air-condition your wine closet or purchase a special honeycombed refrigerator designed to hold a specific number of bottles. It's generally agreed, however, that cellar temperatures can fluctuate from 55 to 70 degrees without appreciably harming the wine, providing the change is gradual.

European Red Wines

With storage problems solved, you're ready to concentrate on acquiring an oenological library of grape expectations ranging from young and fruity to well-aged classics. You would do well to begin with the red wine of Bordeaux, an area of France that annually produces some 70,000,000 gallons of wine. The label on a bottle of good Bordeaux (the British call it claret) will carry either (1) the name of one of the more distinguished Bordeaux districts, such as Graves, St.-Emilion, Pomerol or Haut-Médoc; or, better yet, (2) the name of a township in the Haut-Médoc district (Margaux or St.-Julien, Pauillac or St.-Estèphe); or, best of all, (3) the name of the actual vineyard, called a château, where the wine was made (i.e., Château Margaux), along with the phrases Mise du château or Mis en bouteilles au château. This certifies that the wine was bottled at the château.

Another phrase to watch for is Appellation Contrôlée, which appears onmany Gallic wine labels. All the better French vineyards (except for those in Champagne) use this designation, which, roughly, certifies that the wine produced meets certain government standards, including what kind of grapes were used and that the finished product is what it's represented to be on the label. In other words, you're getting what you paid for; it may or may not be exceptional—but it's authentic.

Of course, you'll want a few great bottles from Bordeaux' most outstanding châteaux—the famous eight are Margaux, Latour, Lafite, Haut-Brion, Petrus, Cheval Blanc, Ausone and Mouton-Rothschild. But you must allow them time to mature. They taste bitter withtannin and sharp with acid when they're young, and most of them, sadly enough, are consumed before they're ready to be drunk. Reds such as these usually take from 12 to 20 years to mature. And the longer you wait to acquire them, the more expensive they are going to get. To give you some idea of price, the 1959 vintage of Château Haut-Brion originally sold for $72 a case (12 bottles) if you ordered it a few months after the harvest. In 1961, the price had risen to $87.50 a case and the wine hadn't even left France. When it arrived in the U. S. in 1962, the going rate in Manhattan was about $96, depending on where you shopped. Today, a case of 1959 Château Haut-Brion brings over $240 and the price is still rising. The time to buy into a good year, obviously, is early in the game. You can't turn around and sell the wine for a profit unless you have a liquor license—or can work a private arrangement—but you will have the pleasure of seeing your purchase perhaps triple in value within five to ten years. And a bottle of wine from your private cellar is a very impressive gift—especially if the wine has disappeared from the market and the offering is now worth three times the price you originally paid.

The eight Bordeaux châteaux previously mentioned, of course, are unsurpassed, but there are more than 100 other rated châteaux, whose wines may mature in a dozen years or so and areonly slightly less magnificent. They will provide a memorable accompaniment to any meal that calls for a red wine. You might begin by sampling some of the following:

Calon Ségur (St.-Estèphe)

Montrose (St.-Estèphe)

Cos d'Estournel (St.-Estèphe)

Duhart-Milon (Pauillac)

Pichon-Longueville-Baron (Pauillac)

Pichon-Longueville-Lalande (Pauillac)

Lynch Bages (Pauillac)

Pontet-Canet (Pauillac)

Batailley (Pauillac)

Beychevelle (St.-Julien)

Lèoville-Poyferrè, Las-Cases or Barton (St.-Julien)

Talbot (St.-Julien)

Gruaud-Larose (St.-Julien)

Ducru-Beaucaillou (St.-Julien)

Gloria (St.-Julien)

Lascombes (Margaux)

Brane-Cantenac (Margaux)

Palmer (Margaux)

Carbonnieux (Graves)

Bouscaut (Graves)

Belair (St.-Emilion)

Canon (St.-Emilion)

Figeac (St.-Emilion)

Pavie (St.-Emilion)

Trottevieille (St.-Emilion)

Nénin (Pomerol)

Vieux-Certan (Pomerol)

Burgundy, both red and white, is a softer, fruitier wine than Bordeaux and also a trickier wine to buy, because a single vineyard may have many owners, each making wines his own way and marketing them separately. The 125 acres of Clos de Vougeot, for example, have some 100 owners. What's more, many a Burgundy town will tack the name of its best vineyard to its own, so that all the township wines can carry the famous name. As an example, consider the wine labeled Chambolle-Musigny, Chambolle being the original name of the local village—which, in the last century, was changed to Chambolle-Musigny; Musigny being the best single vineyard within the township. Thus, any grower living in Chambolle-Musigny gets to use the distinguished name of Musigny on his label even though his product bears little resemblance to the Musigny. Because of this dubious labeling policy, Burgundy's grands crus (great growths) can be sold without the township appellation. By law, the following red Burgundies are the only ones that can be called grands crus:

Chambertin

Chambertin-Clos de Bèze

Charmes Chambertin

Mazoyères-Chambertin

Latricières-Chambertin

Mazis Chambertin

Chapelle Chambertin

Griotte Chambertin

Ruchottes Chambertin

Bonnes Mares

Clos St.-Denis

Clos de la Roche

Clos de Tart

Musigny

Clos de Vougeot

Romanée Conti

Richebourg

La Romanée

La Tâche

Romanée St.-Vivant

Grands Echézeaux

Echézeaux

Corton

Even these wines vary with the vintner and the shipper. They are always expensive and the best of them are invariably estate bottled—that is, bottled by the owner of the vineyard. This is indicated on the label by such phrases as Mis en bouteilles par le propriétaire, or Mise du Domaine, followed by the grower's name. Wily shippers sometimes use similar but meaningless phrases such as Mis en bouteilles dans nos caves, which serve to mislead the buyer.

Confusion can be further avoided by following the Burgundian saw, "Respectez les crus," which means pay attention to vineyard names. To thrifty Europeans, this means buying first growths, premiers crus, from the famous townships of the Côte-d'Or, which is the heart of Burgundy. Many of the first growths equal or surpass some of the grands crus just mentioned, but official reclassification is not easy in France. Ratings published in 1861 concentrated on the reds of the northern half of the district, the Côte de Nuits, and the whites of the southern half, the Côte de Beaune. As a consequence, reds from communes of the southern half are underrated. This is particularly true of the wines from Volnay and Beaune, which can be the best of buys. First growths generally mature faster than great growths. They are often ready to drink four to six years after the vintage, which partly accounts for their slightly lower ratings. Some of the best Burgundy first growths are:

Clos St.-Jacques

Clos de la Perrière

Clos du Chapitre

Clos des Lambrays

Les Charmes

La Grande Rue

Beaux-Monts or Beaumonts

Malconsorts

Les Saint Georges

Clos des Corvées

Corton-Clos du Roi

Cuvée Dr. Peste

To the south of the Côte-d'Or are the wines of the districts of Chalon, Mâcon and Beaujolais. All are meant to be drunk young, particularly Beaujolais. Regrettably, there is far more so-called Beaujolais on the market than the region could possibly produce; unscrupulous shippers mix it with the most ordinary wines and then peddle it as genuine Beaujolais. The best Beaujolais will bear the name of a town—possibly Brouilly, Chiroubles, Juliénas, Fleurie, Morgon or Moulin à-Vent.

Côtes-du-Rhône is the general name given to the wines produced in the Rhone Valley of France that runs between Vienne and Avignon, a distance of 120 miles. Côtes-du-Rhône reds are perhaps the best buys in French regionals today. Top-quality bottlings carry a town name, such as Gigondas. The famed Rhône wine Châteauneuf-du-Pape is best when about five years old, but it's usually over the hill at ten. Hermitage, another famous wine of the Rhone Valley, is always big and full, often needing ten years or more to round out. Côte Rôtie is similar, but the production is small.

The vintage years of Italian reds don't matter much since most of the wines are ready to drink when they reach the stores. Barolos, however, age well and may still be good after ten years. Regional and/or grape names to try, in the following descending order, are: Barolo, Gattinara, Barbera, Grignolino, Chianti Classico, Valtellina, Bardolino and Valpolicella.

Spanish reds are usually ready to drink when available. The Riojas may last for ten years or longer. The lighter wines from Valdepeñas are usually finito after five years.

A good cellar also makes room for port, perhaps the most delicious sweet wine in the world, and should include ruby, when young, and tawny, after a few years in wood. There are also vintage ports, hard to find, and crusted ports (extremely rare), bottles of which are to be treasured. Ports are best after 20 years or more; vintages to buy during this decade: 1960, 1955, 1947, 1945 and 1942.

European White Wines

Most white wines are ready to drink when you get them, two or three years after the vintage. Only the best of the sweet wines of Sauternes, the Rhine and Hungary (Tokay) will last beyond ten years, and dry whites are not for laying away. The greatest drys are the Montrachets, Corton-Charlemagnes, Chablis and Meursaults of Burgundy. First growths from the towns of Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet often equal them, as do the Pouilly-Fuissés and Vinzelles of southern Burgundy. White Burgundy, incidentally, is a beautifully flexible wine; it's a perfect compromise when, say, your date is having ham or duck and you're having veal.

Light and flowery wines of the Loire—particularly spicy Pouilly-Fumé, delicious Vouvray and dry Muscadet—are good ones to keep on ice. Other flowery whites come from such A satian towns as Bergheim and Ribeauvillé, Riquewihr and Mittelwihr, Kayserberg and Am-merschwihr. The best are made from Riesling and Gewürztraminer grapes.

One of the most underrated of white-wine districts is the Graves of Bordeaux, where soft and flowery whites are made from the Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, grapes that also do well in California. The driest of these wines is one from Château Haut-Brion, but you should also try Domaine de Chevalier and Châteaux Bouscaut, Carbonnieux and Olivier.

German white wines, too, are flowery and fruity, ranging from dry to sweet. The fruitier wines are generally the Spätlesen (from late-picked grapes and lightly sweet—just right for seafood and creamy dishes), Auslesen (richer than Spätlesen), Beerenauslesen and Trocken-beerenauslesen (both sweet, from selected berries and selected dried berries). The best of the German wines are labeled with the names of the town and vineyard.

And, of course, you'll want the bubbly—brut and extra sec or extra dry, depending on how it's marketed. Excellent champagnes to buy include CharlesHeidsieck, Krug, Bollinger, Roederer, Taittinger, Pommery-Greno, Moët & Chandon, Mumm, Mercier, Piper Heidsieck, Perrier-Jouet, Pol Roger, Veuve Clicquot and Lanson.

No cellar is complete without some luscious Sauternes—Château d'Yquem or La Tour Blanche, Coutet or Climens—for sipping after dinner with ripe pears or a soufflé on some cold night with a warm companion.

California Wines

Wines from the Northern California coastal counties around San Francisco—Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino, the Liver-more Valley, Alameda and Santa Clara, San Benito and Monterey—have improved so much over the past decade that they are causing a sensation among vinophiles. Reds from the Cabernet Sauvignon, the grape of Bordeaux, compare favorably with classed growths of that region. Pinot Noirs rate favorably with many Burgundies. Zinfandel, a grape with no European counterpart, makes a fruity wine that can be drunk young or allowed to age. Every cellar should boast a mixed case of rosés, and the grenache rosé of California compares favorably with that from the French region of Tavel. White wines from the Burgundy grape Chardonnay and the German grape Johannisberg Riesling are excellent; the Chenin Blanc and Folle Blanche can be outstanding, often surpassing their European counterparts. Some California vintners, such as Christian Brothers and Louis M. Martini, Beaulieu and Inglenook, Charles Krug and Wente Brothers, Almaden and Paul Masson, distribute their wines nationally, while the wines of a few of the smaller producers, Stony Hill and Schramsberg, for example, are difficult to find even locally. (Stony Hill wines, in fact, are sold only at the vineyard.) The following is a list of other California vineyards with limited distribution. These wines are worth trying, even if you have to bring them back from your next trip to the Coast.

Heitz Wine Cellars

Souverain Cellars

Robert Mondavi

Freemark Abbey

Mayacamas Vineyards

Buena Vista

Hanzell Vineyards

Sebastiani

Windsor Vineyards

Parducci Wine Cellars

Mendocino Vineyards

Ficklin Vineyards

Concannon Vineyards

Weibel Champagne Vineyards

Korbel Winery

Hanns Kornell Cellars (concluded on page 184)Urban Wine Cellar(continued from page 90) (Schramsberg makes only sparkling wines, perhaps the best yet produced in California, and Korbel also specializes in such wines.)

• • •

If you're planning to build a wine collection from scratch, you might begin with a dozen assorted bottles in order to better determine what you want to buy in case lots. The following 12 should cost you less than $75 in all and will provide excellent companionship for the fare they accompany:

2 bottles red Burgundy (premiers crus) to serve with steak, stews, wild game, beef or veal dishes or after dinner with cheese

2 bottles Bordeaux (from rated châteaux) with roast beef, steak

1 bottle Rhône (Hermitage or Ghâteauneuf-du-Pape) with stew, pot roast, ragout, wild game, steak, cheese

2 bottles white Burgundy with fish, veal, lamb, fowl

1 bottle brut champagne with caviar, as an aperitif

2 bottles dry German white with seafood, fowl

1 bottle Sauternes or Rheingau Auslesen with dessert, after dinner with fruit or just by itself

1 bottle vintage port after dinner with cheese, walnuts, melons

Your next step up the oenological ladder involves buying three or four cases of wines every three months, ranging from $18 to $48 a case. Seasonal buying is sensible, as purchases will coincide with regular sales, which often take place right after the year-end holidays, around Lent, before summer vacations and right after Labor Day. The following cellar of wines should cost about $400 annually for a dozen cases:

1 case Rhône—Hermitage, Côte Rôtie or Châteauneuf-du-Pape

2 cases Burgundy—divided between vineyards in the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune

2 cases Bordeaux—from the districts of Haut-Médoc, Pomerol, St.-Emilion and Graves

2 cases California—Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon

1 case champagne—brut

1 case Loire—Pouilly-Fumé, Muscadet and Vouvray

2 cases German—Rheingau and Moselle

1 case assorted—Sauternes or Barsac, ruby port, Gewürztraminer and Riesling

An ultimate cellar of unrestrained munificence is a changing thing, its size depending on how many bottles you drink in a year and your storage facilities. There is a special delight in drinking a wine just coming to maturity, followed by another like it but a decade older. There is joy of another sort in tasting two old wines that are quite different or in drinking a perfect, fresh young wine followed by a perfect old one. Of such is the music of the wines composed. A cellar of elegance and grandeur, one that could cost upward of $1000, should include:

2 cases grands crus of Bordeaux—Haut-Médoc, Pomerol or St.-Emilion

4 cases crus classés of Bordeaux (vineyards that have been officially classified as outstanding)—from above districts and Graves

3 cases grands crus of Burgundy—Côte de Nuits

4 cases premiers crus of Burgundy—Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune

2 cases Rhône—Hermitage, Côte Rôtie or Châteauneuf-du-Pape

2 cases California—Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa

3 cases German—Rheingau and Moselle

1 case California—Chardonnay

1 case Loire—Pouilly-Fumé, Muscadet and Vouvray

1 case Alsatian—Gewürztraminer or Riesling

1 case Sauternes or Barsac, Tokay or Rheingau Auslesen

2 cases champagne—brut and extra sec

2 cases sherry—Fino, Manzanilla, Amontillado and Cream

1 case port—ruby, tawny

Wine is a joy. And no wonder. There are vintages to suit any mood. And a cellar—be it 12 bottles or 1200—puts the past at hand to help you celebrate today and look forward to tomorrow. We'll drink to that.

A Guide to Recent Vintages—How they Rate and when to Drink them

Compiling Vintage Ratings and when-to-drink charts is a tricky business. Wine is a living thing, subject to shipping and storage conditions and, finally, to the preferences of the taster. At right, we've rated—on a sliding scale from 20 down—the quality of red Burgundy, Rhone and Bordeaux wines produced in specific years, and listed when they will be at their prime, ready for your glass. White wines are not listed because most—except for white Burgundies and the best of the sweet wines of Sauternes and the Rhine—should be drunk young. So should rosés and most Beaujolais. We've also excluded those years in which the wines rated 12 or less. A discriminating shopper, however, can find excellent values in off years. (For example, although 1965 was definitely an off vintage, Château Haut-Brion that year produced a good wine that is now fully matured and selling for about $5 or less a bottle.) It is still too early for conclusions on the 1970 vintage, though all signs point to a bountiful harvest. There is already talk that 1970 may be the "Year of the Century" for red Bordeaux and, in the Champagne region, an expanded planting program has produced a record yield.

Wine Bottles—A Guide to shapes

Red Burgundy Rating When to Drink

(excluding Beaujolais)

1959..........20..........Now to 1975

1961..........19..........Now to 1975

1962..........17..........Now to 1975

1964..........17..........Now to 1975

1966..........17..........Now to 1976

1969..........18..........1975 to 1985

Red Rhone Rating When to Drink

1959..........16..........Now to 1972

1960..........19..........Now to 1975

1961..........17..........Now to 1985

1962..........13.......... Now

1965..........13..........Now to 1975

1966..........18..........1972 to 1980

1967..........16..........1972 to 1980

1969..........16..........1972 to 1980

Red Bordeaux Rating When to Drink

1959..........19.......... Now

1960..........13.......... Now

1961..........20..........1972 to 1999

1962..........17..........Now to 1975

1964..........18..........1974 to 1980

1966..........19..........1976 to 1985

1967..........13.......... Now

1969..........17..........1975 to 1990

20, 19—Very great wines. 18, 17—Many great wines, some very great. 16, 15—Many good wines, some great. 14, 13—Many fair wines, some good.

Wine Bottles—A Guide to shapes