I don't believe people should use wine solely as an investment vehicle. I've said this before (see my December 2, 2006 post: Pleasure before profit - Thoughts on investing in wine).
In the last few days there have been several articles relating to wine invsting by major publications. For example, the Wall Street Journal ran a story on February 24, 2007 in its Money and Investing section called "Fine wines no longer just tempt collectors" (WSJ online subscription required) spotlighting some of the issues (including a quote from me on market inefficiencies). The day before, www.decanter.com launched a wine investment guide with the respected UK retailer, Berry Brothers and Rudd. Here's a quote from that guide:
"DON'T buy wine which you happen to like, hoping it will go up in value. Stick to the tried and tested investment wines. Personal taste is irrelevant [my italics added] and has no place in investment decisions."
Wine is meant to be enjoyed, not treated as an anonymous commodity. For many of the best wines in the world to be purchased and hoarded by speculators, locked away in storage facilities while ownership changes hands on paper, is not the reason wine was created. Moreover, the practice drives prices beyond the reach of many true wine lovers.
The "temptation"
There's no denying that if you've spent $500,000 building your wine collection that you consider it an "asset" if asked to prepare a personal financial statement. After all, most of us would miss $500,000 if it suddenly disappeared. But like buying a primary residence, most people's first objective is to buy what they'll enjoy the experience of consuming (or living in). It's nice that the "asset" may appreciate in value but that's a a secondary benefit for most wine collectors just as it is for most homeowners.
Planning to invest anyway?
Here's a short list of
wine investing tips to keep in mind. In addition, check my other posts on
valuing wine.
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