Credit crunch fuels thirst for wine investment

With the stock market hitting an all time low, more and more people are looking for alternative ways to invest their hard-earned cash.

With growing levels of scepticism towards the traditional investment forms, one of Wales’ leading independent financial advisers, Bartholomew Hawkins Ltd, has witnessed an increasing number of people enquiring about other ways to extend their investment portfolios.

One alternative investment that is increasingly becoming favourable amongst wine experts is Fine Wine. Dino Bartholomew, director at Bartholomew Hawkins Ltd, says: “Usually the questions come from clients who are looking for diversity but want to invest in something they have an interest in so the purpose is twofold.

“Fine wine has many advantages over other forms of investment,” he continues. “It benefits from being both tax-free and low risk. Its popularity lies in the fact that it is one of the steadiest forms of investment as it is generally unaffected by recession, interest rates and stock market fluctuations.”

Wine connoisseur and Park House Club owner, Adam Pledger has one of the largest selections of fine wines in Wales. The Park House’s cellar has over 450 wines and vintages from the finest producers in the world and the club hosts regular wine tasting dinners for its members. He says: “Investing in any old plonk isn’t going to secure you a profit. You need to buy wine from a proven vintage. What makes fine wine such a good investment is that production of the world’s top vintages is strictly controlled. As the reserves of the very best wine dries up, prices of these vintages invariably rockets.

“Wine from Bordeaux always makes for a promising investment because of its global appeal. A suggested portfolio includes Château Latour, Château Mouton-Rothschild and Château Petrus. Those with the highest value normally come from the much sought-after ‘first-growth’ wines. We’re holding a vertical tasting of wines from Château Lynch-Bages from the last fifty years tonight so if wine lovers are thinking about investing they should come along to sample what is on offer.”

‘Investments of pleasure’ also span to the arts, antiques and stamps, however wine is proving to be a liquid asset that is certainly grabbing the limelight at the moment.

Concludes Dino: “The classic comment about investing in fine wine is that you can always drink it if the worst comes to the worst. In which case, you might as well buy and enjoy the best. There is no point drowning your sorrows in cheap plonk.” 

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