Tag: fine wine investment

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WineCap’s Head of Content named in Harpers Wine & Spirit 30 under 30

Harper's Wine and Spirit 30 under 30 2024

Harpers Wine & Spirit‘s prestigious 30 under 30 list has been unveiled, showcasing the top talents in the UK wine trade. We are delighted to announce that our Head of Content, Desislava Lyapova, has been included in the rankings. 

The publication received over 100 nominations, ‘with each prospective star deserving recognition’ for their leadership, commitment, communication, innovation, and sustainability initiatives. Jo Gilbert of Harpers noted the industry’s challenges, highlighting the importance of the passion and talent that the nominees bring to their roles.

The judging panel is comprised of esteemed industry figures such as Katy Keating (Flint Wines), Kim Wilson (North South Wines), Michael Saunders (Coterie Holdings), Miles Beale (WSTA), Rachel Webster (WSET), Regine Lee MW (Indigo Wine), and Jo Gilbert (Harpers Wine & Spirit). To make the shortlist, the judges convened over two days in separate groups, with scores averaged out. 

Desislava Lyapova stood out as the only wine investment specialist on this year’s list. During her tenure at WineCap, Lyapova has significantly boosted subscriber numbers through her PR efforts and comprehensive research reports, including those focusing on wealth management in the UK and US.

Desislava Lyapova Harper's Wine and Spirit 30 under 30

On the announcement, Alexander Westgarth, CEO of WineCap, congratulated Lyapova on her achievement:

‘I want to give a huge congratulations to all the winners of the Harpers Wine & Spirit 30 under 30, especially our very own Desislava Lyapova. 

Desi has made a transformational impact at WineCap over the past two years. I can’t imagine anyone else who could have helped us achieve what she has. We are extremely proud to have Desi as a key member of our team.’

Before joining WineCap, Lyapova honed her skills as a Senior Writer at Liv-ex, the global marketplace for the wine trade. At WineCap, she has been pivotal in shaping the editorial direction, producing our Quarterly and Regional reports, leading En Primeur campaigns, and managing freelance and in-house teams, all the while enriching the content of the Academy and News sections.

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Bordeaux 2023 En Primeur: an overview of the current campaign

Cos d'estournel bordeaux wines
  • Three weeks into the Bordeaux 2023 En Primeur campaign, we examine the pricing trends of the releases so far.
  • In many cases, the current price cuts have highlighted the steady ascent of En Primeur release pricing in recent years.
  • The Bordeaux 2023 vintage is characterised by diverse critic scores and some high achievers.

This year’s Bordeaux En Primeur campaign kicked off early and rapidly gained momentum. The first 2023 releases landed in the last week of April, shortly after trade professionals had returned from the region and before the publication of most critic reports.

Pricing, as always, remained a central issue. Questions arose about whether châteaux would consider the current market conditions, whether anticipated price reductions would drive interest, and ultimately, whether the Bordeaux 2023 vintage would prove a worthy investment.

Three weeks into the campaign, several major châteaux, including First Growths like Haut-Brion, Mouton Rothschild, and Lafite Rothschild, have already launched their 2023 wines.

With most critic assessments now available and pricing trends becoming clearer, we delve into the details of the campaign so far.

Noteworthy releases

Château Léoville-Las Cases’ 2023 release marked a promising start to this year’s En Primeur. On April 30th, the wine was offered at a 40% discount on the previous year’s release. However, some older vintages still presented better value.

The first ‘great value’ release came from Château Lafite Rothschild in the same week. Its second wine, Carruades de Lafite, represented the lowest priced offering from the estate on the market today, playing on En Primeur’s original premise.

Similarly, Mouton Rothschild and Petit Mouton presented attractive opportunities for investors, released at 34.6% and 25.1% discounts on last year’s offerings respectively.

As a result, Liv-ex reported that both Château Lafite Rothschild 2023 and Château Mouton Rothschild 2023 have made their way onto the secondary market – although they have traded below their original release prices.

In many cases, the current price cuts have highlighted the steady ascent of En Primeur release pricing in recent years.

The average price cuts so far have been 21.5% compared to last year, with reductions ranging from 40% to none. Despite these cuts, many older vintages remain more affordable and often boast similar or better ratings, including those from 2019, 2017, and 2014.

Diverse scores and high achievers

The Bordeaux 2023 vintage has received a wide array of scores from leading critics, demonstrating a spectrum of quality across various appellations and estates.

Château Margaux consistently received high acclaim, with scores of 97-100 from both Antonio Galloni and William Kelley, and 99-100 from James Suckling. Neal Martin rated it as his second- highest wine of the vintage.

Another high achiever, Le Pin, received top marks with a perfect 100 from Peter Moser of Falstaff and 99-100 from Suckling. Château Montrose is also noteworthy, with a barrel range of 97-100 from Kelley and 99-100 from Suckling.

The critical consensus indicates a preference for wines from the Left Bank, which are noted to have fared better overall. The vintage is characterised by wines that lean towards a classic style, marked by their freshness and moderate alcohol content.

Despite the mixed nature of the vintage, there are several standout wines that show considerable promise. These wines are not only great for adding to a collection due to their potential to appreciate in value, but they also offer the kind of quality that makes them worth seeking out for those looking to enjoy fine wines in the years to come.

WineCap’s independent market analysis showcases the value of portfolio diversification and the stability offered by investing in wine. Speak to one of our wine investment experts and start building your portfolio. Schedule your free consultation today.

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Risk tolerance in investing: the role of fine wine

  • Risk in investing refers to the potential for higher long-term rewards but also the possibility of losses.
  • High-risk investments can provide significant returns, but they also come with increased potential for losses.
  • Fine wine can be a low-risk investment with high growth potential and a hedge against inflation.

Understanding risk in investing

In the context of investing, risk signifies the potential variability of returns. It reflects the likelihood that the actual return on an investment may deviate from its expected return, which could mean either losing money or making more than anticipated.

Risk is usually calculated using statistical measures such as standard deviation and variance, which represent the degree to which an investment’s returns can vary from its average return. Greater variability implies higher risk and vice versa.

What does risk tolerance really mean?

Contrary to popular belief, risk tolerance is not about being an adrenaline junkie or being willing to lose all your money. It’s about your ability to endure potential losses in your investment portfolio without panicking or making rash decisions.

Risk tolerance depends on various factors, including your financial capacity to absorb losses, your investment goals, your time horizon (the length of time you plan to keep your money invested), and your emotional comfort with uncertainty and potential loss.

In long-term investments, it can actually be riskier for your wealth to invest solely in traditionally “low-risk” assets. This is because these assets may not provide the growth needed to achieve your investment goals, especially after accounting for inflation.

High-risk investments: high return or high loss?

High-risk investments experience significant price volatility, such as equities, commodities, high-yield bonds, and currencies. These usually have the potential to generate substantial returns; however, they can also lead to significant losses, including the entire amount invested in some cases.

While high-risk investments can be a part of a diversified portfolio, it is crucial to only invest money that you can afford to lose in these types of assets. And, most importantly, these investments should align with your risk tolerance.

Fine wine: a low-risk asset with high growth potential

Fine wine presents an intriguing investment prospect, particularly for those with a lower risk tolerance. As a tangible, finite asset, fine wine tends to appreciate with time and offers a level of stability that is often appealing to risk-averse investors.

Moreover, fine wine has shown high growth potential, with certain wines appreciating significantly over time. Some of the best investments in the last five years have been Prieure Roch Vosne-Romanee Le Clos Goillotte (588%), Egly-Ouriet Brut Millesime Grand Cru (340%) and various wines from Domaine Leroy and Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux. Similarly, the fine wine regions that have seen the highest return on average in the last semi-decade have been Champagne (69.9%) and Burgundy (35.5%).

Our Wine Track tool allows you to explore the best performing wines over different time frames, the price point upon which they are available, and their average critic score.

Understanding risk and your personal risk tolerance is essential in making sound investment decisions. Whether it’s high-risk or low-risk assets, or a combination of both, the key is to align your investments with your personal risk tolerance and financial goals. With its unique attributes, fine wine offers an exciting avenue for those seeking lower-risk investments with substantial potential returns.

WineCap’s independent market analysis showcases the value of portfolio diversification and the stability offered by investing in wine. Speak to one of our wine investment experts and start building your portfolio. Schedule your free consultation today.

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The role of technology in fine wine investment: From blockchain to AI

tech and wine
  • Technology has revolutionised various aspects of the wine trade, from ensuring provenance to streamlining valuations.
  • From blockchain to AI and data analytics, these advancements can improve transparency and efficiency.
  • Wine investment tools like Wine Track help investors spot opportunities and discover relative value.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of fine wine investment, technology has emerged as a transformative force, revolutionising various aspects of the industry. From verifying provenance to streamlining valuation processes, advancements such as blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) have played a crucial role.

This article explores the impact of technology on fine wine investment, delving into blockchain-based provenance verification, AI-driven wine valuation, and digital marketplaces that are shaping the industry’s future.

Blockchain-based provenance verification

One of the significant challenges in the fine wine market is verifying the authenticity and provenance of bottles. Counterfeit wines can undermine investor confidence and erode market trust.

However, blockchain technology has emerged as a powerful tool to address this issue. By creating a decentralised and immutable ledger, blockchain allows for the transparent recording of a wine’s journey from vineyard to consumer.

Each transaction and transfer of ownership can be documented, ensuring a reliable and verifiable record of a wine’s provenance. This technology provides investors with greater confidence in the authenticity and quality of their investments.

However, applying blockchain to tangible assets like wine has some complexities. Unlike virtual transactions, the wine trade involves physical goods with unique characteristics and specific storage requirements. Bottles can be removed from cases, stored improperly, and tax status may vary, posing challenges for a fully distributed ledger system. Despite the existing challenges, blockchain holds significant potential in creating a more secure and trustworthy wine trade ecosystem.

AI-driven wine valuation

Accurate and reliable wine valuation is essential for investors seeking to make informed decisions. AI-powered tools and algorithms are transforming the wine valuation process, leveraging vast amounts of data to generate precise and timely assessments.

By analyzing factors such as vintage, producer, critic ratings, market trends, and historical sales data, AI algorithms can provide sophisticated valuation models. These models offer investors insights into the potential appreciation or depreciation of specific wines, enabling more informed investment strategies.

Digital marketplaces

Digital marketplaces have disrupted traditional fine wine trading by providing a platform that connects buyers and sellers in a transparent and efficient manner. These platforms leverage technology to facilitate secure transactions, streamline logistics, and expand the reach of the market.

Online marketplaces allow investors to access a global network of fine wines, enabling diversification and providing a more extensive selection to choose from. Additionally, these platforms often offer tools for researching wines, comparing prices, and tracking market trends, empowering investors with valuable information to make informed investment decisions.

Fine wine investment tools

One free tool that helps investors is Wine Track. Wine Track is a comprehensive fine wine index that enables investors to identify investment grade wines, spot trends and wine investment opportunities.

The tool uses daily wine price data from multiple sources, tracking over 75,000 investment grade wines. It indexes the prices of multiple vintages of a given wine, and aggregates critics’ scores, to provide a clear overview of a wine’s investment track record.

The tool also highlights the best and worst performing wines over different time periods, and includes a ‘price per point’, which is a clear indicator of relative value to help investing in wine.

Wine Track

Data analytics for market insights

Data analytics has become crucial in fine wine investment, offering investors valuable insights into market trends and patterns. By analyzing vast amounts of data from multiple sources, including auction results, critic ratings, and global demand patterns, investors can gain a deeper understanding of market dynamics.

Data-driven insights enable investors to identify emerging investment opportunities, track the performance of specific wines or regions, and make informed decisions based on historical market trends.

Technology has significantly influenced the landscape of fine wine investment, providing investors with enhanced transparency, efficiency, and analytical capabilities. Digital traceability ensures wines reach the right hands, while AI-driven wine valuation leverages data analytics to generate accurate and timely assessments, guiding investment decisions. As the wine trade continues to adapt the latest technology, investors will be able to navigate the market with greater efficiency and confidence.

WineCap’s independent market analysis showcases the value of portfolio diversification and the stability offered by investing in wine. Speak to one of our wine investment experts and start building your portfolio. Schedule your free consultation today.

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Banking failures and the fine wine market: Performance during economic uncertainty

Banking crisis
  • The US banking crisis has been the biggest since the 2008 financial crisis and has created uncertainty in mainstream markets.
  • Revisiting key moments in the history of fine wine investment offers valuable insight into the future of the market.
  • A key difference between fine wine and equities during the last financial crisis was the speed of recovery.
  • The fine wine market is braced for challenges due to its diversity as the performance of different wines and vintages can balance a portfolio.

The recent banking failures have been the biggest since the 2008 financial crisis. Since the beginning of March, regulators have shut down three mid-size US banks – Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republic. In Europe, Swiss giant Credit Suisse was rescued in an emergency deal with rival UBS, which purchased it at a fraction of its closing market value. UBS itself suffered losses during the acquisition – it slid 13% before making a recovery.

While the news echoes the last financial crisis, governments have been providing reassurance that this is not history repeating itself. The current turmoil is partly down to the sharp increase in interest rates, which was aimed to curb inflation.

Still, the banking collapse has had an immediate effect on investor confidence and mainstream markets. European bank shares remain volatile, while US stock markets opened flat this week. Alternative assets and safe havens such as gold and treasuries have enjoyed a boost, as investors have been considering low-risk assets to put their money.

Reflecting on how the fine wine market has performed during previous challenging macroeconomic events could offer valuable insights into what to expect in the current uncertain environment.

The fine wine market during the 2008 financial crisis

Like other markets, fine wine experiences cycles.

fine wine performance

During the previous financial crisis, the fine wine market suffered a downturn, but it fared better than some other traditional investments such as equities and real estate. Between June 2008 and June 2009, the Liv-ex 100 index, which was heavily weighted towards wines from Bordeaux, fell 18.8%.  Meanwhile, the broader Liv-ex 1000 index, which includes greater number of wines from other regions, dipped 7.4%.

The Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index, which tracks the performance of luxury assets including fine wine, recorded similar figures, with the value of investment-grade wine declining 15% in 2008. By comparison, the S&P 500, a benchmark index of US equities, fell over 37% the same year.

A key difference between fine wine and equities during the financial crisis was the speed of recovery. While the stock market took several years to recover to its pre-crisis levels, the fine wine market turned bullish relatively quickly. By the end of 2009, investment-grade wine had returned to its pre-crisis levels, and by 2010, it had surpassed its previous peak.

Moreover, the performance of fine wine during the financial crisis varied between different regions and vintages. While the Bordeaux market was hit particularly hard, Burgundy and the Rhône performed relatively well.

The fine wine market – braced for challenges

The fine wine market of today looks very different from the shape it had fifteen years ago. There are more investable wines than at any other point in history. If Bordeaux accounted for 90% of the market in 2008, today its share sits at 35%, due to the emergence and the proven investment potential of wines outside this dominant French region.

The diversity of this portfolio diversifier has helped it get through swiftly through other more recent challenges, such as Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on most European wines, and the Covid-19 pandemic.

For instance, Italy and Champagne, which were exempt from the US tariffs, enjoyed steady price appreciation in 2019, while Burgundy suffered. Throughout and after the pandemic, Burgundy and Champagne turned into the top-performing regions.

California also enjoyed rising prices in 2021, and its index hit an all-time high in September last year.

Bordeaux has been moving quietly and steadily, and its relatively mild performance over the last five years has turned it into a region that can offer value for money, especially in ‘off’ vintages.

regional fine wine investment

Factors influencing the performance of fine wine

The fine wine market is different from other markets and operates with its own dynamics, such as rarity and exclusivity. Its unique characteristics make it less vulnerable to market shocks and economic downturns than financial markets.

Indeed, its historic performance has shown very low correlation to mainstream markets. As a tangible good that cannot be traded as quickly as stocks, fine wine is generally insulated from rapid price changes.

In general, prices move based on supply and demand, critics’ scores, vintage quality, age and brand appeal. Find out more about fine wine investment here, or explore the performance of individual brands on Wine Track.

 

WineCap’s market analysis showcases the value of portfolio diversification and the stability offered by investing in wine. Speak to one of our wine investment experts and start building your portfolio. Schedule your free consultation today.

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Ornellaia’s Axel Heinz to breathe new life into Château Lascombes

Chateau Lascombes

Axel Heinz joins Château Lascombes

Longtime director and winemaker at Ornellaia, Axel Heinz, is leaving Tuscany to join the Second Growth Château Lascombes as CEO and bring the estate ‘to its full potential,’ reported The drinks business. After 18 years in Italy, Heinz will join Lascombes in time for the 2023 harvest.

Carlton McCoy, managing partner at Lawrence Family Wine, who own the Margaux property, said that the work Heinz ‘has done while overseeing Ornellaia and Masseto have taken this already heralded estate to new heights’.

Indeed, Ornellaia and Masseto have become established as two of the most prominent Super Tuscans, enjoying continuous demand and steady price appreciation. In 2020, they placed among the top ten most powerful wine brands in the world.

Investment performance of Ornellaia and Lascombes

The appointment of Heinz is intended to breathe new life into Lascombes, which has seen much slower growth than the Super Tuscan. Over the past five years, Lascombes prices have risen just 2.5%, compared to a move of 45% for Ornellaia.

Ornellaia and Lascombes

At present, the 2012 is Lascombes’ highest-scoring vintage, with 94-points from Robert Parker (Wine Advocate). It is also one of the best offerings on the market, together with the less expensive 2011 (RP 93).

With Heinz soon to be at its helm, Lascombes will be an estate to watch; one likely to generate more critical attention, and rising prices.

You can explore the price performance of both estates on Wine Track – our tool, which enables you to identify investment grade wines, spot trends and wine investment opportunities.

Stay tuned – this analysis and more is part of our Q1 2023 report, published next week.

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Fine Wine Investment | Guide

Fine wine investment

A renaissance in the market over the last two decades has let the secret of fine wine out, and the mainstream investment community has responded in kind. The word on fine wine is that it’s not just for the privileged few: it is an ideal choice for everyday investors looking to diversify their portfolios.

By choosing fine wine, you benefit from a proven market that is stable, relatively detached from the mainstream, and consistent in its double-digit returns. What’s more, fine wine offers you a great hedge against inflation.

Discover in our Fine Wine Investment Guide:

  • How to invest successfully in fine wine
  • What WineCap will do for you
  • The beauty of fine wine as an investment
  • The long-term returns of fine wine
  • The influence of wine critics
  • How to create the perfect portfolio

Click the button below to download our Fine Wine Investment Guide and learn more about our proven strategy for investment success.

Do not hesitate to get in touch and speak to one of our wine investment advisors for further information and to reserve your allocations.