The Wine Bottle

The wine market is a funny thing. It is essentially a luxury product and yet millions of bottles are produced each year.A wine might be worth less than one ten years its junior, and whether a certain wine sells well or not can come down to a few people’s personal taste. 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.

Fine wine prices have been rocketing upwards for many years now. As more refined production techniques and better storage capabilities allow for high class wines, so the prices for those wines continues to increase.  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. 2009′s January figures showed a decrease in prices of close to 1.2% according to the index that tracks 100 of the top collectible wines, known as Liv-Ex 100.  This is trend that experts expect to continue for while and can in fact be seen throughout the wine sector, from wine production to the sales of general shot glasses.

A bottle of Montrachet Domaine Romanee-Conti (1978) very recently got picked up at a Chicago auction for $3,500. The price of $23,929 was only a few years back at Sotherby’s for the same bottle of wine. 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.The lowest point in that the market will face is predicted to be somewhere towards the end of the year. It should then be able to start gaining some speed again. Tableware and drinking accessories are expected to improve as well.

Here are some key pieces of advice from Joss Fowler, wine investment professional from Berry Bros & Rudd. A almost certain bet is going for a Red Bordeaux, he says, because aging this one badly is no easy task for anyone. Additionally, if you want your money to be safe, go for the highest quality wine you can afford and from the best vintage possible. Stay true to this rule and you’ll be filling up your wine rack sooner than you think.

Tags: auction, drink, investing, money, prices, storage, wine