The Wine Geek in All of Us
It’s a familiar problem to all of us: your cellar is full of thousands of bottles, all properly stored and cared for. But at some point, it gets hard to remember if that was a ‘82 or ‘86 Lafite that you had a case of tucked away, or just how many cases of ‘01 Screaming Eagle you got as part of the latest auction. But perhaps the greatest problem we all face is: just how long do you lay down your Charles Shaw?
I finally came across a website that helps with all these issues, and more! CellarTracker! is an amazing webtool for tracking your cellar, whether it has 1,601 bottles or 44. Sadly, mine is the 44, not the 1,601. But even with just 44 wines (64 bottles), I still forget what I have, where it is, and when it’s ready to drink.
After spending a few minutes per wine on data entry (time varies vastly depending on whether it has already been entered by another user–more expensive wines are more often already listed, while my more amateur collection includes quite a few entered by me) you have at hand an amazing database with all the power of fancy computers behind it. You can enter tasting notes, reviews, comments, pending purchases, and storage location, as well as drinking windows, professional reviews, and purchase price.
The best thing about CellarTracker! is how it shares all this data. When I enter a tasting note and review, both are immediately shared with the community (at my discretion). I can see how others have rated my wines and when they think it should be drunk. Combine this info with a fancy little “Drinkability Report” and you’ll never have to worry about your $16,000 DRC turning to vinegar again.
Olivia said,
October 8, 2005 @ 12:03 pm
CellarTracker! is an enabler.
Another of my favorite features is the pre-formatted, restaurant-style wine list you can print for your own collection (with or without prices shown). When I know I want a Red Burgundy with dinner, it’s great to flip straight to that page and see what we have that fits the bill.
mona said,
October 8, 2005 @ 12:40 pm
wow, i’m definitely checking that out. can i still use it even if i’m starting my collection in my apt and i only have 4 bottles? haaa..i’m so broke. maybe someday i’ll be able to hike up my number of bottles to in the thousands..
Eric LeVine said,
October 16, 2005 @ 9:56 pm
Thanks so much for the nice comments about CellarTracker. It was something I put together as a hobby back in 2003, and it has taken on a life of its own. Now it’s my day job, and I’m having a blast. Please do let me know if you have questions or suggestions for how to make it better.
Thanks!
-Eric