The Waiting List For The Mailing List: How Long Have You Waited?

[Joe H]

I have been on the waiting list for the mailing list at Cayuse since the spring of '09.  I was told today that I "am close...very close."  I'm just curious how long people may have waited on a waiting list to make a winery's mailing list.

My luck is that the first vintage I can buy will be a bad one....

[Keithstg]

Waiting lists for mailing lists are so 2006. I'm not on any at the moment, having just gotten off of the SQN wait list (8 years). I guess since 2004 I've been whittling down the lists I buy from and concentrating on a few producers (like Copain) that make wines in the style I most enjoy as opposed to buying across a lot of lists. Hopefully this will be smarter for me in the long run.

[MarkS]

Life is way to short to wait for wine.  There is lots of good wine around.

[DonRocks]

What I've never understood is why wineries with long lists don't simply raise the prices of their wines to maximize revenue - at some point, the list would dwindle down to zero people, and would contain only people willing to pay the most money.

[Joe H]

What I've never understood is why wineries with long lists don't simply raise the prices of their wines to maximize revenue - at some point, the list would dwindle down to zero people, and would contain only people willing to pay the most money.

I was on Leonetti's mailing list dating back into the '90's.  I remember when their merlot was $30-35 or so for a bottle.  Today they are more expensive, 85-90 for merlot.  Reserve is $140-150 and I no longer buy their wine.  I was loyal for 15-20 years or so but their prices outgrew me.  Perhaps interestingly tonight I opened a bottle of their '05 merlot.  It was absolutely delicious.  Worth every penny of the $45 or so I paid for it.  $85 or 90? No.  If I ever make it onto Cayuse's list I can buy Bionic Frog for that.  Or Reynvaan Stonessence which is a superb syrah.

There are limits to what a bottle is worth.