Investing in wine

Jim_B_3

You're missing one crucial thing. If the wine is well chosen and properly stored, it will improve, and therefore be worth more as time goes on.

I do simply outright disagree with that. I agree that some wine can be more fun to drink that other wine, and that it's possible that a given bottle of wine might be more fun to drink if you store it for a while first, but the link between "better" and "more expensive" is so tenuous that for me, wine investment looks more like a ponzi scheme than an actual investment (I should say that I say the same thing about shares in some companies; usually the ones that make losses year after year but people still clamour to buy). Obviously opinions differ.

brasso

Jim_B wrote: »

I do simply outright disagree with that. I agree that some wine can be more fun to drink that other wine, and that it's possible that a given bottle of wine might be more fun to drink if you store it for a while first, but the link between "better" and "more expensive" is so tenuous that for me, wine investment looks more like a ponzi scheme than an actual investment (I should say that I say the same thing about shares in some companies; usually the ones that make losses year after year but people still clamour to buy). Obviously opinions differ.

I think most people have that problem, or think they do. But take it from me, there is a massive difference between a 2-year old, freshly bottled Cru Classe red Bordeaux from a top vintage, and the very same wine tasted 10, 15, 20 years later. They would taste like 4 different wines, and each would be more complex and more interesting than its younger self.

The key thing is that while people like you and me wouldn't want to pay a 3 figure sum for the 20+ year old version (or wouldn't be able to), there are people who would -- private collectors, merchants, top restaurants and so on. There is a market for these finest of fine wines, or at least has been for a few centuries now. That's why we can be fairly confident that wine is a good investment if chosen well, and bought young (before the wine is even bottled), and stored properly.

Your point about the relationship between cost and pleasure is well taken -- I agree with you, but it's a different subject, and relates mainly to wine bought off the shelf in the wine shop or supermarket. You won't automatically get twice the 'fun' from a £10 bottle than a £5 bottle, though in most cases you'd see a difference. But that's a totally different topic from money-driven wine investment which has well known rules and constraints, and is made more complicated by the elements of collectibility, scarcity, prestige etc which muddy the waters a bit.

I said "money-driven wine investment" because there is a much nicer form of wine investment -- pleasure-driven wine investment. It's easy to do, though you need to be able to afford it, and you need some self-restraint. All you do is instead of buying just one bottle of a partular wine, buy 2 or 3 of the same one and stick the extra 1 or 2 out of the way somewhere. A cellar is ideal, but under the stairs or a well insulated garage is fine, which is what I do. You have to keep a record of when you bought, how much you paid etc.

In a year or two you'll have a good collection. Start to drink the odd bottle, but slower than the rate at which you buy them, to ensure that the collection continues to grow. You'll be amazed at how different, and how much more 'fun' the older wines generally are. Even a simple Cotes du Rhone or Chianti will improve markedly with an extra 2, 3, 4 years of bottle age. So you'll have bought at a low price but actually get to drink something that tastes much better. You can easily prove this by tasting your 5 year old Tesco Chianti alongside the very same labelled wine bought last week.

You need to know a little bit to do this as some reds should be drunk young and fresh (generic Beaujolais for instance). Some whites will get more complex with age but most won't. (Tip: if you see a good offer on Champagne, buy a few bottles and stick them away. Even cheap Champagne tastes much better with a bit of bottle age. In fact, more expensive Champagnes are often not much different from cheap ones, but they are stored for an extra year or two before being released for sale, hence they are more pricey.)

Er, sorry Jim. I drifted off the subject a bit there. As I said, wine is a hobby of mine.

Bazofts_Revenge

As Brasso said just keep supermarket wine a few years and they improve. Someone gave us what looked like a real cheap bottle of red about 8 years ago. I finally got around to drinking it a few weeks ago and it was pretty good stuff. I made a wine investment this evening but sadly I expect to just have an empty bottle in the morning but I will have got some pleasure from it.