Instead of buying bottles of wine one at a time, when you think about it, there are lots of good reasons to spring for a whole case (that's usually 12 bottles, for the uninitiated but before you go all superior haughty on me, let me add that certain Boujolais bottles are packaged 18 to the case).

First of all, you WILL use more wine if you have a case squirreled away in your "cellar", a cool dark place where you can successfully store your hoard. Let's make the assumption that you have purchased a case of a wine you like a lot. Don't you think you will:

be more inclined to open a bottle of the wine you know is tasty when your friend comes over for a visit?

be more inclined to bring a bottle to your mother's for the Barbeque she and your Dad are throwing this weekend?

be faster at pulling a cork when you and your husband /partner /lover have the unexpected opportunity to have an informal dinner alone because the kid(s) are all at friends' houses for sleepovers?

be more confident giving a bottle as a gift than buying and giving a bottle of wine without first tasting it?

become part of the expanding group of people who look to wine as a part of their normal life, rather than having it solely for something special? (I read a statistic once that said more wine is consumed in the U.S. from Thanksgiving Day to January 1 than all the rest of the year combined. I find that sad, and not because I earn part of my living in the wine industry.

Another benefit of buying a case is that you will have the educational opportunity to taste the same wine bottled from the same batch over the course of several months. You can experience the subtle changes and nuances of aging, and they will occur for your discovery, so long as you pay attention.

Finally, and the true motivating factor for many case purchases, is the fact you generally receive a discount of between 10-15% off the full retail price when you buy an entire case at once. Some wine discount stores will not offer case discounts, so ask before you assume, but some major grocery stores here in California have posted the policy of a 15% discount for 12 or more bottles.

So, I think make a good case for buying a case.

Paul Kreider