Many people assume you need thousands of dollars to start collecting wine. The truth is, some of the best collections begin one bottle at a time. Building a wine collection isn't about buying the most expensive wines. It's about buying wines you enjoy, learning about different regions and producers, and creating a collection that reflects your personal taste. A great way to start is by purchasing two bottles instead of one whenever you find a wine you love. Drink one now and save the other. Over time, you'll begin to understand how different wines develop with age. Keep notes about what you enjoy. Record the winery, vintage, grape variety, and tasting impressions. Those notes become valuable as your collection grows. As your collection expands, proper storage becomes increasingly important. Even relatively affordable bottles deserve the right environment. Heat and temperature fluctuations don't discriminate between a $25 bottle and a $250 bottle. Professional wine storage gives new collectors confidence that every bottle is aging under ideal conditions from the very beginning. At Del Rey Wine Center, we work with everyone from first-time collectors to seasoned enthusiasts with extensive cellars. Our flexible wine storage options in Los Angeles make it easy to start small and expand as your collection grows. Every great collection starts with a single bottle. The key is giving that bottle the care it needs, then doing the same for the next hundred. When you're ready for that step, our cellar holds 55°F and 60–70% relative humidity year-round, with HEPA-filtered air and low light — the conditions of an underground wine cave, in Los Angeles. Lockers start at 15 cases and step up from there, so you're not renting a room you won't fill for years. We also receive shipments for members. If you've joined a wine club or worked your way onto an allocation list, cases come to our on-site office and go into climate-controlled storage the same day, instead of sitting on a porch in August. Schedule a private tour of Del Rey Wine Center to see the cellar before you commit to it.
