As Fine Wine Prices Drop, There Has Never Been A Better Time To Invest
The market for wine in a strange one. It is essentially a luxury product and yet millions of bottles are produced each year.One wine may be 10 times as expensive as its cousin and wine popularity can be up and down like a roller-coaster. One thing is certain though, there is a lot of money to be made from wine and now is a better time than ever to invest.
The prices of fine wines has been on the increase for the last couple of decades. As wineries continue to perfect their production methods and develop better storage facilities, the prices people pay for fine wines has crept up. Sotheby’s wine expert Jamie Richie even said “Prices had risen to nearly unsustainable levels last spring”.However, the struggling market currently has lead to a very clear a drop in prices. March 2009 saw a relatively big downturn in prices averaging 1.2 percent according to Liv-Ex 100, the index that tracks the top 100 collectable wines. This is trend that experts expect to continue for while and can in fact be seen throught the wine sector, from wine production to the sales of standard wine glasses.
At a recent auction in Chicago, a bottle of 1978 Montrachet Domaine Romanee-Conti sold for $3,783. That same bottle went up for sale at Sotheby’s a couple of year back for $23,929. This massive decrease in costs is allowing lots of people to pick up some great wines for their own personal collections or for investment, for only a fraction of previous prices.Experts agree that the wine sector will continue to drop until the end of this year when it will start to regain some power again.
Here are some key pieces of advice from Joss Fowler, wine investment professional from Berry Bros & Rudd. He recommends that a very good bet is, and always has been, a Red Bordeaux as they age beautifully. Also, always go for the best vintage and don’t scrimp on cost, get the best you can possibly. Stick to this adage and you’ll be filling up your pretty champagne flutes sooner than you think.
