I'm getting so old. Three of my eight godchildren have recently come of age and I would swear that it was only four or five years ago that I was bouncing them on my knee at their christenings. How come they grew up so blindingly fast and how come they grew up so incredibly tall? When Finn, Lily and Jonno were born I was working at Berrys (I can't imagine why, but bachelor wine merchants often seem to get the nod as godparents) and was able to make full use of advantageous staff rates to lay down the odd case for them. I bought the likes of 1977 Warre's port, 1989 Château Léoville Barton, 1988 Château Batailley, 1989 Château Rieussec and 1988 Château Coutet in halves. As my godchildren have matured, so have the wines. Indeed, a couple of them are a wee bit too mature, not to say over the hill. The wines that is, not the godchildren, who are all coltish and sprightly. The 1988 Château Batailley, in particular, has probably passed its best before date and in retrospect wasn't that well thought out a purchase.

"That is one of the problems of laying down wine for godchildren the minute they're born," says my former colleague Tom Cave, now in charge of customers' private reserves at Berrys. "The best time to do it is when they're ten or so. The trouble is that godparental pressure means you have to take something tangible to the christening. best buy wines and spiritsMost folk ring on a Friday afternoon saying that they want something urgently for Saturday morning. the best wine with turkeyAnd they usually want it from the child's birth year, too, little realising that it probably hasn't even been harvested let alone bottled." best red wine with price in indiaAs I know all too well, there's no guarantee the little nipper's birth year is going to be much cop anyway. wine gift card canada

I was born in 1960, not bad for port, but lousy for bordeaux, sandwiched as it was between two spectacular vintages. My father got around this by laying down a few cases of 1959 claret, declaring it to be in honour of the year of my conception. All sold or drunk long ago, sadly.best wine books kindle "Yes, but what a great investment," says Amanda Skinner of Private Cellar. best kindle wine books"When realised, purchases like that can help finance a gap year or go towards a car or motorbike. best fruity white wineWe recently had a customer who put his pre-credit crunch bonus towards some 2000 Château Léoville-Las-Cases for his godchildren, buying it at £900 a case. wine for me tumblr

By last summer the value had gone up to £2,800 a case." My purchases were not in that league, but still provided a modest windfall. Finn has decided to keep some and sell the rest back to Berrys (merchants don't guarantee to buy the wine back, but it's convenient when they do), reinvesting around £600 in some 2005 clarets. best french wine townsLily, who's just been offered a place at Bristol University, is pondering what to do, but will probably sell it all and reinvest. best turkey recipe food and wineJonno (off to Exeter) has sweet-talked his father into buying the lot off him and got a cheque for around £1,200 for his trouble. what type of wine is best with turkey"Buying wine for a godchild is a lovely, romantic thing to do," Tom says. buy california wine australia

"But you've got to do it properly and splash out a bit and buy something that will last. Port ages better than claret, but probably doesn't keep its value so well. My advice is to spend a minimum of £200 a case and to trade things as you go along." As Amanda points out, it's not just romantic, but practical too, and ideal for forgetful godparents. buy californian wine australiaGive Private Cellar or Berrys a lump sum and each year they will lay down wine for the godchildren on their birthday and will write and let them know. best place to buy wine in san diego"When the time comes, almost all of them decide to sell the wine, invariably doing jolly well out of it," she says. best wine bars bath"Unless you've got a lot of cash at 18 or 21, it's hard to look at the wine and want to drink it rather than sell it." best wine rating magazine

But if any of my godchildren do decide to drink it, I've written into the small print that they have to drink it with me. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Most clarets worth laying down are around £250-£300 a case: 2008 Château Beychevelle, for example, is currently £288 in bond. best wine boxes uk 2015Don't forget, magnums last longer.good wine bars in bath Don't be scared to look back: 2005 clarets could still prove a shrewd investment.best grade wine If you want claret from your godchild's birth year, you'll need to wait at least a year before the opening prices are released and 18 months on top of that until the bottles arrive in Britain.best bottle of red wine 2015