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    The Journal

    Notes for people who live with wine.

    Plain answers, strong opinions, and the details that matter when wine leaves the shelf and enters a life.

    Industry

    What It Really Costs to Buy Fine Wine Through an Advisor

    Anthony Clemenza · 3 min read · Updated September 2026

    A clear-eyed breakdown of what every channel for buying fine wine actually costs — marketplace commissions, auction premiums, retail markup, and the disclosed, client-paid fee a fee-only advisor charges instead.

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    Recently from the house

    Useful before the next decision or dinner.

    Cellars

    Your First Serious Cellar: A $10k, $25k, and $50k Blueprint

    Anthony Clemenza · 3 min read · Updated August 2026

    What $10,000, $25,000, and $50,000 actually buy when you're building your first serious wine collection — allocation across drinking windows, the mistakes new collections make, and how a designed cellar gets built.

    Industry

    From the Journal

    Industry

    Corporate Wine Gifting: A Complete Guide for Firms

    Anthony Clemenza · 3 min read · Updated August 2026

    What to spend per recipient tier, the date you actually have to order by, how to keep compliance happy, and why the basket everyone sends says exactly what it costs.

    Cellars

    From the Journal

    Cellars

    Insuring a Wine Collection: What Homeowners Policies Miss

    Anthony Clemenza · 3 min read · Updated August 2026

    What a standard homeowners policy actually covers on a wine collection, where it fails — sub-limits, spoilage, mechanical breakdown — and why insurers want a USPAP-compliant appraisal before they'll schedule it properly.

    Cellars

    From the Journal

    Cellars

    Inheriting a Wine Collection: A Guide for Executors and Heirs

    Anthony Clemenza · 4 min read · Updated August 2026

    What executors, trustees, and heirs need to do first when a wine collection passes into an estate — stabilizing storage, securing a date-of-death valuation, and choosing among keep, donate, or sell.

    Cellars

    From the Journal

    Cellars

    Form 706 and a Wine Cellar: What Executors Get Wrong

    Anthony Clemenza · 4 min read · Updated August 2026

    How a wine collection is valued and reported on the federal estate tax return — establishing date-of-death fair market value, why a USPAP-compliant appraisal matters for substantiation, and the recordkeeping executors should keep in the file.

    The archive

    For the cellar, the table, and the road.

    CellarsDonating Wine to Charity: Form 8283 and the Rules That Actually MatterAnthony Clemenza · 3 min read · Updated August 2026August 2026CellarsHow Often Should a Wine Collection Be Re-Appraised?Anthony Clemenza · 3 min read · Updated August 2026August 2026CellarsWine Storage in New York: Professional Facility, Home Cellar, or Wine FridgeAnthony Clemenza · 4 min read · Updated August 2026August 2026CellarsHow Much Is My Wine Worth? The Honest AnswerAnthony Clemenza · 3 min read · Updated September 2026September 2026CellarsWhen to Drink Your Wine: Managing a Cellar's Drinking WindowsAnthony Clemenza · 3 min read · Updated September 2026September 2026TastingsWhat a Private Sommelier Dinner Costs, and What You're Actually Paying ForAnthony Clemenza · 3 min read · Updated August 2026August 2026CellarsWhat Does a Wine Collection Appraisal Cost?Anthony Clemenza · 4 min read · Updated September 2026September 2026TastingsCorporate Wine Tasting: What to Expect and What to BudgetAnthony Clemenza · 2 min read · Updated July 2026July 2026PairingTexture Over Intensity: A Pairing PrincipleAnthony Clemenza · 1 min read · Updated March 2026March 2026CellarsA Cellar With IntentionAnthony Clemenza · 1 min read · Updated February 2026February 2026TravelThe Quiet Logistics Behind a Wine JourneyAnthony Clemenza · 1 min read · Updated January 2026January 2026

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