RITUALS OF WINE: Advanced

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Why Cellar Wine?

If you are holding wine for drinking later, you already have a wine cellar. While the words wine cellar conjure up thoughts of underground caverns, a wine cellar is any space dedicated to storing wine.

Differences between wine cellars are enormous. Vast caves storing millions of bottles at unvarying temperatures are at one end of the scale; a small cupboard is possibly at the other end.

Every wine cellar exists for the same purpose – to keep wine in an ideal environment for selecting from and enjoying some time in the future. While a specialized wine cellar can aspire to emulate the underground cavern, a lack of these resources should not discourage you from having a wine cellar.

The benefits of wine cellaring are varied and many.  Here are the top seven reasons that people cellar wine...

1.  Pleasure

The pleasure of owning and managing your own selection of wines can only be experienced by those who have such a wine collection. Everyone derives different satisfactions.

There is the pleasure of visiting old (wine) friends in the cellar and the excitement of meeting new ones whenever a stored wine is opened. There is the happiness associated with maintaining an accurate and effective wine inventory and the fun of selecting a wine, knowing that it will be easily found and retrieved. The ability to produce a wine suitable for the occasion at hand, without having to travel to the store, is satisfying and convenient. There is an undoubted pleasure in sharing and showing your wine cellar to visitors. And who can deny the pleasure of saving money and being able to enjoy and share wines which have reached a higher value than what was paid. Surrounding all of these satisfactions is the heightened anticipation of enjoying the wine which you have selected for purchase, stored, chosen and finally shared at the peak of its potential.

2.  Convenience

The convenience of selecting a suitable wine for any occasion and producing it with ease and aplomb is only available to those who have a well stocked wine cellar. Very few wine cellars can provide this level of performance for every occasion. The objective is well worth aiming for and when achieved is very satisfying.

3.  Saving Money

There is no doubt that money can be saved with the use of a wine cellar.

You save money when you buy by the case especially when good wine is being offered at discounted prices. You save petrol and time when you avoid driving to the wine store to satisfy the immediate need for a bottle. You save money by turning a good wine into an excellent one as it ages to advantage before you enjoy it. You save by selecting the right wine for the occasion and so avoid serving an expensive wine for quaffing because there is nothing else available.

4.  Profitability

While making money from the storage of wine is a dream of many and is fully possible, it is seldom the prime reason for starting a home wine cellar. However the knowledge gained by building up a wine collection can lead to the confidence needed to successfully buy and later sell wine for a profit. 

5.  Knowledge

Results of surveys clearly show that people who build up a collection of wine inevitably become more knowledgeable about wine in general.

6.  Confidence

This improved knowledge leads to a dramatic increase in wine confidence and this in turn leads to people buying more wine and often spending more per bottle due to their certainty that the wine will be cared for and enjoyed at the right time.

7.  Status

Not an important reason to develop a wine cellar but one freely felt by those who have a well organised and well presented cellar.

Calling all aspiring wine critics!

Send us your review of Killerby Wines...

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What Current Members Say About Being Part of the Cellar Club...

"I really enjoy being a member of the Cellar Club.  We find the Cellar Club home deliveries wonderful as we don't get down to your vineyards very often.  Another bonus is that Killerby make superb wines and we like to support the WA wine industry." 
James McDermott, Cellar Club member since 1997.

"What I like about the Cellar Club is:

• I save money,

• it forces me to pay attention to your direct mail, which even though it is excellent it is still possible to forget about when you are busy, and

• I really like the way you can change your order during the year."  
  Byron Sharp, North Adelaide.  Cellar Club member since 1996

"Every quarter I receive my selection of Killerby wine and enjoy every last drop.  The other bonus is the savings I enjoy as a Cellar Club member.  The end result is a satisfied customer - thanks to the Cellar Club.  I really am a satisfied customer.  I think your wines are great. Yours is the only wine club that I've bothered maintaining my membership to."  
Peter Martin, Mullaloo WA.  Cellar Club member since 1995.

"There is no question the convenience of automatic deliveries of your premium wine makes my cellaring and drinking that much easier and more pleasurable.  Also the guarantee of receiving the wine that can be a little difficult to purchase in Melbourne is an added attraction and at prices better than local liquor outlets. 
I enjoy the information you send regarding your wines.  But I guess the guaranteed delivery of the premium wines on a regular basis is what attracts me most.
Many thanks for the always excellent service."  
Tony Davis, Doveton Vic.  Cellar Club member since 1994.

"Killerby wines are not just excellent quality, they represent outstanding value for money.  At the recent Wine Australia, I tried many great Western Australian wines.  The one thing that stood out in my mind, was how favourably the Killerby wines compared with WA's best for quality, yet when it came to value, none could compare with the Killerby wines.
I regularly visit family and close friends in Melbourne and when I do, I bring a couple of bottles of Killerby wine.  They now seem to look forward to my visits much more than they did previously.  I know that I can take a bottle of Killerby wine to any occasion and it will prove to be a hit with all who taste it.  Invariably the question is asked, 'How can I get some of them?'"  Darryl Scognamillo, Green Point NSW.  Cellar Club member since 2001.

"I think at the last Cellar Club dinner that we went to (our first one) it was mentioned that we had been Cellar Club members for seven years.  We are not what you would call large consumers of wine by any stretch of the imagination and that is precisely the reason that we belong to the Cellar Club.  The two cartons we get each year covers us for all occasions when guests or family cover over and we need that extra bottle of something that is really good. 

Also we both work six days a week and sometimes when you throw together an average 'quick meal' you want a better quality wine to give the meal that something special. 

Besides at 7pm when you get home the last thing I want to do is drive back to the bottle shop to select a nice wine for dinner.  With the regular phone call and delivery when promised it really works well for us.  And my final comment, the hree year guarantee on the wine and never having to put my hand up to use it in seven years... how good is that?"  
Simon Cartright, Shoalwater WA.  Cellar Club member since 1997

 “There are any number of places that will send wine on a regular basis, but there are very few that when the wine arrives, you can take any bottle to a friends place and know they will be impressed.

 Experience has taught us that it's best to be selective in where we take Killerby wines, as those who have tasted it previously will invariably open it first and we will be disappointed that the bottle goes so quickly.

Thank you for reminding us of the three-year guarantee. We had forgotten it as we have never had a bottle of Killerby that disappointed in any way, which may go some way in explaining the way we feel about Killerby.

 For some reason we feel an attachment to Killerby that we don't feel for any other vineyard. It's similar to the way we feel about our oldest and dearest friends, not really sure why we became friends nor why it endures, but knowing it's special and they won't let us down.

 We feel that Killerby is in a small way "our" vineyard. For us, from the east, we were so happy that in August this year we were able to visit "our" vineyard and meet Judy Withers. Judy turned out to be as pleasant in person as she is on the phone.

 I believe that the enjoyment of wine is enhanced by the accumulated feelings associated with the particular wine. For Helen and me, associated with each indulgence of Killerby, is a feeling that all is well in the world, faraway friends feel closer, that there are places in the world that are special and the future is bright. Real comfort food.”
Ray and Helen Bailey, NSW.  Cellar Club members since 2001. 

"There is nothing better than coming home from a truly bad day at work and discovering a case of one of your favourite wines waiting for you on your doorstep." 
Jane Macey, Cellar Club member since 2002.

"The thing I like most about the Cellar Club is the personalised contact."
Robyn Martin, Cellar Club member since 1995

 "The things I like most about the Cellar Club are:

• The wine,
• The fellowship,
• Elizabeth Killerby, and
• An understanding that life is good and to be enjoyed."

David Dixon, Cellar Club member since 2004.

 "The best things about the Cellar Club are:

• Cellar Club dinners - an opportunity to meet people who I wouldn't normally get to converse with.
• Oh, and the great wines which appear regularly at the back door."

Robin Ashburn, Cellar Club member since 2001.

Get Involved With the Cellar Club Today!  Click here to join online.