Vinfolio.com

True wine collectors buy wine to drink -- not for potential financial gains. They may buy excess quantities of a given wine to sell later but this is usually only to help finance their wine consumption. In short, the “dividends” from wine collecting are paid in pleasure, not profit.

To the extent one’s wine appreciates in value, I believe that this is purely a secondary benefit to the typical wine collector. It’s great to know you can sell your wine for a profit should you need the cash or want to replace it with other wine because your tastes have changed. The robust resale market may even encourage the general tendency to “overbuy.” After all, why not have the option to drink a little more when you know you can always sell any time to recover your money?

Wealth Manager magazine interviewed me for an article published yesterday titled “You don’t have to own a vineyard to invest in the fruit of the vine.” This is a well-written, comprehensive article targeted at investment advisors whose clients ask them about investing in wine. The principal focus is on the investment potential of buying wine futures. As background, you might with to review my prior post titled “Wine futures and pre-arrivals: what’s the difference?

In tomorrow’s post, I will provide some advice on how to maximize your chances for financial gain and point out risk factors to be aware of if you choose the wine investment route.