Today, we’re going to be talking about wine & money. What do the two of them have in common? Let’s you and I get ready to ‘un-cork’ today’s topic. When people are first introduced to wine, they will often go with something light. It will typically be a White, something like a sweet champagne, or an Asti Spumante. The type of glass that the wine is poured into is called a ‘flute’. It’s very narrow and one of the reasons that it’s poured into this glass is so you can hold it by the stem, which will help keep the wine cold, but it also allows you to see the show that's going on. Inside the glass, bubbles are going from the bottom to the top. Many people will say that the bubbles tickle their noses. This kind of wine is something that typically cannot be stored much longer than 1, 2, or 3 years. It doesn’t have a long shelf life in most cases.
As a person gravitates towards more complexity in their wine enjoyment, it’s not unusual for a person to finally get to the Reds. Reds are different. Reds are typically poured into a larger glass that we refer to as a bowl. Instead of holding it by the stem, many people will hold it underneath the bowl and above the stem. That is because Reds are stored 10 degrees cooler than the temperature you want to drink them. Many people want to bring the temperature of the Red up before they drink them. It’s not unusual to even see people using both hands to assist in warming that wine. Red wine, if properly stored and a good vintage, can be stored up to 10, 20, 30, 50, 100 years or more because it’s a long, enduring wine.
So, how do you handle your money? Are you looking for something sweet, entertaining, tickling your nose, and seems like dessert? Do you begin your money planning by saying "what am I going to get out of this as quickly as possible?" That’s typically a White. Or are you looking at planning for something that will endure over the years? That would be a Red. Even when it comes time to drink a red, many people will look at it, enjoy the color, and take in the aroma before they even taste it for the first time. It’s a slow enjoyment. It's something that you would enjoy during your entire meal vs. a dessert wine that you need to ask to be filled up over and over again.
Here’s something else that’s very interesting to learn. If you go from one wine to another during a meal, you always should start by drinking something dry and deep and then change to something sweet later on. We’re not saying when it comes to your money that you can’t enjoy fun things along the way, but it’s a long, enduring experience with your money. Just like a Cabernet, you enjoy the meal first and put the dessert off for later. If you were to try a sweet wine and then try a dry cabernet, it would be a horrible experience. It would taste awful, but if you go from a dry red to a sweet white, the white tops off a perfect evening because you've enjoyed something that has taken the time of the years on the vines and the grapes to enjoy over a lifetime.
If you like the way that we think about money and would like to know more about putting together the right ‘vintages’ of your financial life, then perhaps it’s time to say cheers and schedule your Financialoscopy®.
