WINE Tips, Info and Guide

Wine investment is not at the top of investors' minds. For some investors, it may be at the back of their minds to keep a few bottles in case the prices appreciate, but no one is explicitly buying wines as an investment.

It's very much by chance to those who discover that their wine collection is worth a lot more over time. The lack of interest in wines as an investment could be due to the fact that investors are still at the appreciation stage and don't view wines as a commodity.

Those who are looking to invest seriously in wine face several issues. The main obstacle is the lack of a marketplace for selling wines. Serious wine investors will have to look to establish markets for fine wines, where they're able to liquidate their stocks and get good prices. For instance, London is traditionally a strong trading market for fine wines where investors can sell to established wine merchants or consign their collections to auction houses like Christie's and Sotheby's, which regularly hold fine wine auctions.

Storage or rather, concerns about bad storage and freight, is also another obstacle that wine investors in this part of the world face.

It's advisable for those interested in wines as an investment to consider 'en primeur' or futures, particularly of blue-chip wines like Bordeaux First Growths. If you want to reap the best benefits, you have to buy 'en primeur'.

However, with futures, it's crucial to get the vintage right. With a good vintage, the prices can appreciate by as much as 50% by the time the wine hits the market 18 months from the sale of its futures.

The key to buying wine futures, however, is that one needs to be an established buyer to actually catch them at the best prices. The current market for wines is not as vibrant as in its heyday in the 1980s, when the 1982 Bordeaux vintage was released into the market and American collectors were eagerly buying it up and also during the year 2000 millennium craze. The market today has softened. The collector's bubble has somewhat burst since the US economic slowdown.

Ninety percent of wines bought for investment would be Bordeaux, which today has become a commodity. First Growth Bordeaux would be most in demand but the supply is not exactly small. On average, most First Growth chateaux produce between 200,000 and 400,000 cases a year.

By and large, however, people still stick to blue chips. Thus, it's advisable for budding wine investors to go for well established First Growth Super Chateaux, if they want to play it safe.

Buy a top vintage at a high price and hope to sell at an even higher price. Then, it's a matter of how much it will rise and what your holding power is. You can also consider taking a punt on top-ranked small production Chateaux like Le Pin, which produces only 500 cases a year. At the end of the day, few in this part of the world take wine investing seriously.

By Michael Russell

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Chablis is thought to have originated in northern Spain and grows well in a 'Mediterranean' climate. As a result, it is widely grown in many of the countries that border the Mediterranean Sea including France, Italy, Spain, and Algeria. Chablis is the most widely planted grape in France. It has also found a home in almost every other wine producing country around the world.

Many wine enthusiasts are now interested in constructing their own home wine cellars. Thanks to the wide variety of available materials and accessories, it really isn't difficult. However, you need to be sure that you use a proper wine cellar design, in order to ensure that your wine is being stored properly. As wine is stored, you need to control that aging process by storing your wine in a suitably designed place.

Everyone has different needs and budgets for their own wine collection, and there are some wine enthusiasts who have very elaborate "wine rooms" designed in their homes. They have the full refrigeration, and a large amount of extra accessories such as wine tasting tables, racks and other accessories. And, there are also those who are just as dedicated to their love for wine, that have simple rooms designed to store their wine, without all the extras.

The type of wine storage that you need is also going to be dependent on the kind of wine that you have in your collection. Wine storage doesn't necessarily need to be underground - it can be anywhere in your residence provided you follow some basic key factors that you need to consider. Your storage area needs to be somewhere that you are able to keep the wine bottles dry and cool. The ideal temperature is between 50 F and 56 F, and the temperature needs to remain constant with no drastic or sudden changes. Too much heat can damage wine. You also need to keep the wine somewhere that it won't be subjected to too much noise or vibration.

Custom wine storage solutions can be very expensive - and out of reach for many people. However, thanks to the internet, everyone has access to some great material and equipment needed to build their own home wine cellars. You can find some great kits available at affordable prices, as well as guides that show you how to go about your own wine cellar design - and having a great one is a must for the wine enthusiast who wants to take their love for wine to the next level.

By Amy Sloane

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