Labelling in your cellar
- djewesbury
- Graham’s 1970
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Labelling in your cellar
I'm getting some cellar-time, putting away recent purchases bought in Porto and a few boxes of wine which arrived while I was away. I'm now in the habit of labelling every bottle with a tag and updating the spreadsheet in Google Drive as I lay each bottle down (the spreadsheet shows me where every bottle is). I find that I've stopped keeping Cellartracker up to date - too much bother since I have to do it all one bottle at a time (I think; I haven't mastered the more technical features).
Does everyone else follow this laborious (but secretly, perversely enjoyable) duplicate or triplicate ritual? I'm covered in brick dust and cobwebs. But it seems so safe down here...
Does everyone else follow this laborious (but secretly, perversely enjoyable) duplicate or triplicate ritual? I'm covered in brick dust and cobwebs. But it seems so safe down here...
Daniel J.
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
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Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
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Re: Labelling in your cellar
Many of us have noticed, but were too polite to mention.djewesbury wrote:I'm covered in brick dust and cobwebs.
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
Ernest H. Cockburn
- djewesbury
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Re: Labelling in your cellar
It's the academic look Derek. If you swish my fusty garb to one side I have half bottles of VP concealed within.DRT wrote:Many of us have noticed, but were too polite to mention.djewesbury wrote:I'm covered in brick dust and cobwebs.
Daniel J.
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
delete.. delete.. *sigh*.. delete...
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
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Re: Labelling in your cellar
Ah, a bit like Davy Jones hiding his keys in Pirates of the Caribbean - I get it now.
I don't label anything in my home cellar, which consists of two wine fridges and a "for current drinking" wine rack in the coolest part of the house.
I like your Google-tastic approach. If you ever lose a bottle you can ask those nice men at the C.I.A. to find it for you.
I don't label anything in my home cellar, which consists of two wine fridges and a "for current drinking" wine rack in the coolest part of the house.
I like your Google-tastic approach. If you ever lose a bottle you can ask those nice men at the C.I.A. to find it for you.
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
Ernest H. Cockburn
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Re: Labelling in your cellar
Cellartracker has mass update features. So no more one bottle at a time. The new format is very easy to deal with multiple bottles.
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- Dalva Golden White Colheita 1952
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Re: Labelling in your cellar
When you say cellar, do you mean an actual under the house thing, or are you referring to where you keep your wine as a cellar?djewesbury wrote:I'm getting some cellar-time.
I do not have an actual cellar, I have various wine merchants, several carefully selected areas in my mother's old stone house and a well insulated cupboard under the stairs chez moi. I write down what I have on various lists. These are not very accurate or comprehensive.
For port bottles I buy luggage labels which I tie to the bottle with what it is, where I got it and how much for written on it. These are mainly in a big stack about five deep under a church pew so it is handy to be able to see what I've got without getting it out. The cooking port is next to a particularly cool toilet, well covered and seems to do well there.
I have other arrangements for my other wines which tend to be in racks and so more easily got to.
Once or twice a year when the weather is suitable I do a bit of a stocktake. It is a pleasure of an almost ecstatic kind.
- djewesbury
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Re: Labelling in your cellar
I understand the ecstasy of the stocktake. All that glorious stuff that you'd forgotten you had.
My cellar is under the house. It isn't full height by any means but it goes under the whole house and some of it is reasonably accessible.
I also use luggage labels.
I like the sound of your cool toilet.
I will look at Cellartracker once more.
My cellar is under the house. It isn't full height by any means but it goes under the whole house and some of it is reasonably accessible.
I also use luggage labels.
I like the sound of your cool toilet.
I will look at Cellartracker once more.
Daniel J.
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
delete.. delete.. *sigh*.. delete...
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
delete.. delete.. *sigh*.. delete...
Re: Labelling in your cellar
Yes, likewise, except that I typically discover that stuff has been stolen.djewesbury wrote:I understand the ecstasy of the stocktake.
Re: Labelling in your cellar
As do I. I have no recollection of ever discovering something wonderful that I did not know was there, only discovering that what was once there is gone forever.jdaw1 wrote:Yes, likewise, except that I typically discover that stuff has been stolen.djewesbury wrote:I understand the ecstasy of the stocktake.
Who are these thieves who torture us so?
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
Ernest H. Cockburn
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Re: Labelling in your cellar
Stolen? Egads, what kind of low cutpurses do you share cellarage with? Or is it 'stolen' in the same way that mine 'evaporates'?jdaw1 wrote:Yes, likewise, except that I typically discover that stuff has been stolen.djewesbury wrote:I understand the ecstasy of the stocktake.
Why? Ignore it, luggage labels rule.djewesbury wrote:I will look at Cellartracker once more.
Re: Labelling in your cellar
Lost, stolen, evaporated - it's all the same. It's a conspiracy.LGTrotter wrote:Stolen? Egads, what kind of low cutpurses do you share cellarage with? Or is it 'stolen' in the same way that mine 'evaporates'?
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
Ernest H. Cockburn
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Re: Labelling in your cellar
One of the joys of not keeping a proper records is that not only do many bottles get lost, stolen or evaporate but there are also those ones forgotten or miscounted. I once found I had 10 more Graham 85 than my record showed . They have all since evaporated however.DRT wrote:Lost, stolen, evaporated - it's all the same. It's a conspiracy.LGTrotter wrote:Stolen? Egads, what kind of low cutpurses do you share cellarage with? Or is it 'stolen' in the same way that mine 'evaporates'?
Re: Labelling in your cellar
The last time I checked I had 10 Graham's 1985 fewer than I thought I had. A pattern is emerging.LGTrotter wrote:One of the joys of not keeping a proper records is that not only do many bottles get lost, stolen or evaporate but there are also those ones forgotten or miscounted. I once found I had 10 more Graham 85 than my record showed . They have all since evaporated however.DRT wrote:Lost, stolen, evaporated - it's all the same. It's a conspiracy.LGTrotter wrote:Stolen? Egads, what kind of low cutpurses do you share cellarage with? Or is it 'stolen' in the same way that mine 'evaporates'?
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
Ernest H. Cockburn
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Re: Labelling in your cellar
I was just on my way to the police station to hand them in.DRT wrote:The last time I checked I had 10 Graham's 1985 fewer than I thought I had. A pattern is emerging.
Re: Labelling in your cellar
Yeah, sure - when they were "stolen" I presume?LGTrotter wrote:I was just on my way to the police station to hand them in.DRT wrote:The last time I checked I had 10 Graham's 1985 fewer than I thought I had. A pattern is emerging.
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
Ernest H. Cockburn
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Re: Labelling in your cellar
Most likely the evaporated on the way there, that blistering Somerset sun...DRT wrote:Yeah, sure - when they were "stolen" I presume?LGTrotter wrote:I was just on my way to the police station to hand them in.DRT wrote:The last time I checked I had 10 Graham's 1985 fewer than I thought I had. A pattern is emerging.
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Re: Labelling in your cellar
Actually it's been very nice recently, with only a few hundred homes needing a rebuild after the floods, which have nearly all gone. I even drove through Muchelney the other day.PopulusTremula wrote:Most likely the evaporated on the way there, that blistering Somerset sun...
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Re: Labelling in your cellar
In re of labelling; do those of you who use computer based things have a cellar book too? I mean something physical, an actual book.
Re: Labelling in your cellar
No. Get with it, Owen, we're not in the 1950s any more.LGTrotter wrote:In re of labelling; do those of you who use computer based things have a cellar book too? I mean something physical, an actual book.
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
Ernest H. Cockburn
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Re: Labelling in your cellar
I suppose you are still keeping records with clay tablets in cuneiform?DRT wrote:No. Get with it, Owen, we're not in the 1950s any more.LGTrotter wrote:In re of labelling; do those of you who use computer based things have a cellar book too? I mean something physical, an actual book.
Re: Labelling in your cellar
No. Just on my iPad Mini, using Siri as the human-machine interface.LGTrotter wrote:I suppose you are still keeping records with clay tablets in cuneiform?DRT wrote:No. Get with it, Owen, we're not in the 1950s any more.LGTrotter wrote:In re of labelling; do those of you who use computer based things have a cellar book too? I mean something physical, an actual book.
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
Ernest H. Cockburn
- djewesbury
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Re: Labelling in your cellar
I can see you shouting at your iPad now.
"Siri, where the hell did these 48 bottles of Berry Bros Pauillac 2010 come from? And where am I going to store them?"
"Siri, where the hell did these 48 bottles of Berry Bros Pauillac 2010 come from? And where am I going to store them?"
Daniel J.
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
delete.. delete.. *sigh*.. delete...
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
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Re: Labelling in your cellar
My cellar is a Miele 162 bottle wine storage unit that sits in the hallway of my 13th floor flat. it has never been anywhere near full and I find opening the door and having a look is enough to keep track of what Ihave. Am sure I have issues with theft and evaporation but not having any records cannot prove this.
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Re: Labelling in your cellar
Are there any port collections higher than the 13th Floor on this forum? Extreme port collecting could be a new high adrenaline sport.mpij wrote:My cellar is a Miele 162 bottle wine storage unit that sits in the hallway of my 13th floor flat. it has never been anywhere near full and I find opening the door and having a look is enough to keep track of what Ihave. Am sure I have issues with theft and evaporation but not having any records cannot prove this.
- Alex Bridgeman
- Graham’s 1948
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Re: Labelling in your cellar
I keep my records on an exel spreadsheet which generates copious quantities of pointless statistics. One such statistic is that I am at the maximum number of columns on the main worksheet.
Every bottle which passes through my hands is allocated a serial number. That serial number is recorded on the spreadsheet along with details such as where the bottle came from, when, how much it cost, from where and at what cost it could be replaced, where it is and has been stored while under my ownership and other details. When a bottle is consumed, I can cross reference the allocated number against the details and start to identify whether a particular batch of bottles shows well or poorly.
Occasionally I'll add a neck tag, but normally I will put small labels on the top of the capsule and the base of the bottle saying what they are - D27, for example. This makes it much easier to find the right bottle quickly when searching the wine fridge.
Once a year I'll carry out a stocktake of the wine fridge and despite my careful recording of all the deposits and withdrawals at the Port Bank, I am always surprised at how inaccurate my spreadsheet is.
Every bottle which passes through my hands is allocated a serial number. That serial number is recorded on the spreadsheet along with details such as where the bottle came from, when, how much it cost, from where and at what cost it could be replaced, where it is and has been stored while under my ownership and other details. When a bottle is consumed, I can cross reference the allocated number against the details and start to identify whether a particular batch of bottles shows well or poorly.
Occasionally I'll add a neck tag, but normally I will put small labels on the top of the capsule and the base of the bottle saying what they are - D27, for example. This makes it much easier to find the right bottle quickly when searching the wine fridge.
Once a year I'll carry out a stocktake of the wine fridge and despite my careful recording of all the deposits and withdrawals at the Port Bank, I am always surprised at how inaccurate my spreadsheet is.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.
2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.