Two Italian wine experts reveal how to start a home wine collection

Giovanni Frascolla, owner of the Tua Rita vineyard in the idyllic region of Tuscany, and Alessandro Nannelli, wine expert in the famous Bolgheri region, share their top tips on how to start a wine collection at home
From the perfect fridge to how to select your first wines, these hacks will give you everything you need to start your own collection at home

Most American’s enjoy at least the occasional glass of wine. However, over half (57%) are not very confident (23%) or not at all confident (34%) that they would be able to distinguish between a $5 bottle of wine and a $100+ bottle of wine in a blind taste test.¹

And with so many different varieties, types, and countries to choose from, many people may be at a loss of where to start when it comes to starting a wine collection. However, the demand is there – ‘wine storage ideas’ saw a 70% increase in Google searches over the past 12 months, and ‘best wine fridge’ saw a huge 160% increase.

Luckily, Wren Kitchens interviewed Giovanni Frascolla, owner and wine expert at the Tua Rita vineyard in the idyllic region of Tuscany in Italy, and Alessandro Nannelli, wine expert in the famous region of Bolgheri, to bring you the ultimate hacks to start your own at home wine collection.

Stay chill

The number one rule of wine collecting: get a good fridge. Heat is an enemy of all wine, and temperatures any higher than 70° will age wine, resulting in flat aromas and flavors.

If you can, invest in a mono-temperature wine fridge. A constant temperature is the secret to ideal wine storage, and you don’t need to break the bank to get a small fridge especially for your wine collection. Make sure your fridge is kept between 45° F and 65° F.

Pick the right glasses

What you drink matters, but how you drink it matters as well – make sure you pick the right glasses. Choose a style that not only fits your taste and home décor, but also helps you with the wine tasting.

Hand-blown glasses are a great choice, because their thin glass enhances wine, especially at the rim or lip of the glass. Also, make sure to pick the right glass for your wine type. Red glasses are usually bigger, so that the wine may breathe more, but white wine glasses are smaller. Sparkling wine should be served in a tulip glass, to allow the bubbles and aromas to develop to the full.

No waste policy

Let’s say you want a nice glass of wine, but don’t want to open the whole bottle. Instead, you can use a ‘Coravin’, a wine preservation system that allows you to pour a glass without opening the bottle. This way you can save and store your wines for longer and make sure they are still fresh for when you want to pour the next glass.

Discover your taste

With thousands of different wines from all over the world, you need to simplify your efforts and discover what is it that you like the most. It is common for younger people to enjoy stronger wines and switch to more elegant, lighter notes as they get older.

Giovanni recommends starting with what he calls ‘educational wines’. For the reds, think Amarone, Chianti, and Pinot Noir, for whites, look for Etna, Riesling, and Chardonnay, and for sparkling try Prosecco and Champagne.

It is also wise to invest in some young wines from famous labels, says Alessandro, and drink them years later. The wines will have gained more complexity over the years and in some cases, if you don’t want to enjoy them at home, you can resell them for much more than you originally bought them for. Wine is not only the star of your dinner party, but also a great investment!

If you are ready to start and enjoy your perfect home wine collection, have a look at our four tips on how to include wine storage in your kitchen. And if you’re looking to get started, make sure you pick the write wine cooler with Wren Kitchen’s Wine Cooler Guide.

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¹https://today.yougov.com/topics/food/articles-reports/2019/11/05/most-popular-best-wine-poll-survey

About Wren Kitchens

Wren Kitchens is Europe’s number one kitchen retail specialist and has supplied kitchens worth more than $1.31 bn (£1 bn) in the last two years alone. Launched in 2009, Wren Kitchens is a family business, and it manufactures its UK kitchens in its three manufacturing and assembling facilities. It has 101 showrooms and delivers fully built cabinets, with doors, drawers and wirework pre-installed and delivered by Wren’s award-winning fleet of trucks.

In 2020, for the first time the business expanded internationally and opened its first showroom in Milford, Connecticut, which was crowned America’s biggest kitchen showroom at 31,464 sq. ft. Throughout 20201 Wren will continue to expand its network of inspirational showrooms across the Northeast, as well as open its first US manufacturing facility in Northeast Pennsylvania. It will create a significant number of jobs mainly in manufacturing and retail, as well as various support roles such as customer services and HR. For all vacancy inquiries please visit www.wrencareers.com