Costs for the Planet’s Top Wines Are on the up and Leading Critics Have Been in Raptures over the Bordeaux Region’s 2009 Vintage
Costs for the planet’s top wines are on the up, and leading critics have been in raptures over the Bordeaux region’s 2009 vintage, sparking an increase in interest. With returns from money savings leaving a sour taste, should you be looking to these alternative investments? The fine wine sector was in no way resistant to the worldwide credit crisis.Click here for more information on investing in wine.
In the last quarter of 2008, the London World Vintners Exchange 100 Fine Wine Index ( Liv-Ex one hundred ), which tracks the cost of the planet’s most sought-after wines, slipped by 20 percent. during the past year and a half, it has shown a noteworthy recovery and the Liv-ex saw a rise of 5.5 per cent in March, representing a twelve percent gain in quarter one of the year.
” Costs have rebounded back strongly from the lows seen at the end of 2008. Lots of the top Bordeaux wines are now dearer than they have ever been. These price rises are essentially due to increased demand from HK and China, ” claims Justin Gibbs, a manager of Liv-Ex. Stockholders who need to hold wine as a physical asset must go thru a merchant, not the homes themselves. There’ll be a few costs to account for if you make a decision to take this route. First a merchant will charge either a front-loaded charge of roughly five percent of the total price of the wine or an once a year management charge. When it is time to sell, they’ll take a commission of ten percent. Storage is another cost, even though a vital one. Wrongly stored wines can be rendered meaningless so it’s sensible to store wine in a bonded, temperature-controlled warehouse. Some merchants offer their own warehouses but a safer bet is to employ a pro storage company like London Town Bond and Octavian Vaults. This could attract an once a year charge of up to £15 per case but it implies that there’s no VAT or duty to pay if the wine is sold on.
